The lawsuit that could upend the NCAA amateur athlete system could be tried as early as this summer.
Federal Court Judge Claudia Wilken has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday with attorneys that could determine, among other things, a trial date for the case that challenges NCAA limits set on athlete compensation for college football and basketball players.
Wilken had previously set a trial date for Dec. 3, but the NCAA has asked for a continuance because its lead counsel would not be available in early December.
In an order last month, Wilken asked attorneys for both sides to submit “the trial schedules of all necessary counsel for the weeks of July 30, August 13, September 4, September 17, and September 24, 2018.”
The NCAA had asked for the trial to be delayed until “no earlier than June 2019” when its lead counsel, Beth Wilkinson, would be available. Wilkinson, who may be best known as the prosecutor who successfully argued for the death penalty for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, represents high-profile companies and clients, including the NFL and FedEx, as a partner in her law firm Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz.
“The right to one’s chosen trial counsel is all the more weighty here, given that this case threatens to fundamentally recast the nature of the entire market for college athletics,” the NCAA argued in court papers.
Beth Wilkinson is lead counsel for the NCAA, while Jeffrey Kessler represents the athletes.Marissa Rauch Photography; Winston & Strawn
The NCAA notes that the former college athlete plaintiffs are seeking an injunction that would bar existing NCAA limits on compensation or benefits to student athletes.
“If granted, that injunction could radically transform the nature of collegiate athletics, changing it from an amateur competition whose participants may receive scholarships up to the cost of attending college, into a professional system where athletes could command unlimited amounts of cash,” the NCAA states.
The athlete plaintiffs, who are represented by attorneys Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler, have argued against delaying the trial another year. The plaintiff’s lawyers are asking Wilken to keep the original Dec. 3 trial date or set a date in late July through early August or from mid-September to the end of this year.
“A timely trial is especially important in this case — already more than four years old — where the Classes seek injunctive relief to prevent additional irreparable harm each year that Defendants’ unlawful restraints continue,” they said in their court filing. The plaintiffs allege that the NCAA’s limits on athlete benefits and compensation violate antitrust laws.
Wilken first set the Dec. 3 trial date in March when she ruled against the NCAA and found the case could proceed to trial. In April, Wilken ruled in favor of the plaintiffs to exclude the testimony of an NCAA expert witness, economist Ken Elzinga.
CAA INKS NBA COACH DEALS: CAA Sports negotiated three NBA head coaching deals in the last few months for clients David Fizdale, J.B. Bickerstaff and James Borrego. Fizdale is the new head coach of the New York Knicks, Bickerstaff is head coach for the Memphis Grizzlies and Borrego is the new head coach of the Charlotte Hornets.
A team of agents, led by Bret Just, represents the coaches.
WASSERMAN SIGNS OGWUMIKE: Wasserman has signed Los Angeles Sparks power forward and 2016 WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike for representation. Agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas will represent Ogwumike, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2012 WNBA draft.
Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @SBJLizMullen.
