Ed O'Bannon Case UPDATE: NCAA, EA Sports Ask for Trial Delay; Judge Mulls Several Motions
ByU.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken, who is overseeing the Ed O'Bannon case, saw another flurry of motions Monday, which included a request from the NCAA to delay the case another 15 months, USA Today reported.
The trial is currently set to begin on June 9, 2014, but the NCAA requested a delay to Aug. 28, 2015. Each party involved - O'Bannon, the NCAA, EA Sports and Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) - filed motions Monday.
O'Bannon, a former UCLA basketball star, and the other plaintiffs involved requested the date remain unchanged. The trial has already been delayed from its beginnings in May 2009 to an initial court date of March 2013, with a delay to February 2014 and now to June 2014.
O'Bannon is suing video game maker EA Sports, CLC and the NCAA for using his name, image and likeness for profits without compensating him. The results of the trial could have major implications in the debate of whether or not athletes of NCAA Division I major sports should receive a piece of the billions of dollars they help bring in.
For Wilken, her list of motions she much rule upon only grows longer. She still has yet to decide whether or not to allow the plaintiffs' suit to be classified as a class action lawsuit. Since filing numerous former and current college athletes have joined or expressed interest in joining O'Bannon.
Also filed Monday was a request by EA to the U.S. Supreme Court to hear two similar cases. One of those cases, involving former Nebraska and Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller has been consolidated with O'Bannon's. EA has asked that action be delayed pending its request to the Supreme Court.
Keller's case could have an impact on O'Bannon's, EA and the NCAA stated in their filings, which is the reason for asking for the delay of trial.
Wilken now has a full plate of rulings to make, here is an outline of the additional issues facing her in addition to the class-action decision and Monday's filings.
- A new version of the complaint to include current college athletes who joined O'Bannon's suit. This would name all of the current student athletes who wish to fight the NCAA and EA Sports for profiting off their names and likenesses.
- The NCAA and EA Sports want their bid for dismissal heard before Wilken rules on class action certification. They would like to gather evidence for their tentative bid for dismissal.
- CLC would like the plaintiff's scope reduced to one current student athlete.
- The two parties were also unable to agree on a trial date, like Wilken asked of them on Aug. 8.
Since the case began, the NCAA and EA Sports have made their own changes to stop profiting off of current athletes. However, the recent moves have been more scaling back than quitting altogether.
The NCAA stopped selling player jerseys and memorabilia on its organization's website, but individual schools continue to do so. The NCAA also did not void any other contracts, like television, bowl sponsorship, etc.
The NCAA also discontinued its agreement with EA Sports to make college sports themed video games. EA Sports intends to continue producing its widely popular games without licensing from the NCAA.