Ed O'Bannon Trial Begins With His Own Testimony: 'I Was an Athlete Masquerading as a Student'

Ed O'Bannon, the lead plaintiff in an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA for not compensating student athletes, took the stand Monday after it took five years for his case to go to trial.

According to ESPN, the former UCLA basketball player opened up the trial by arguing he was in school to get drafted into the NBA, not to earn a degree. He said he spent 40 to 45 hours per week on team activities compared to 12 hours studying.

CLICK HERE to see a live stream of tweets from the courtroom, courtesy of ESPN.

"I was an athlete masquerading as a student," O'Bannon said on the stand. "I was there strictly to play basketball. I did basically the minimum to make sure I kept my eligibility academically so I could continue to play."

He also said his academic adviser was behind his switch from a communications major to U.S. history, since classes in the latter would be easier to schedule around basketball.

"There were classes I took that were not easy classes but they fit my basketball schedule so I could make it to basketball practice," O'Bannon said.

U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken previously separated O'Bannon's case from that of Sam Keller, a former quarterback at Arizona State. The NCAA settled the Keller case, which was to focus on video games, Monday for $20 million ahead of its March, 2015 trial. O'Bannon's case will determine whether or not Division I basketball and football players get a piece of the billions of dollars the NCAA makes from TV deals for live events and rebroadcasts.

O'Bannon and the plaintiffs are not seeking individual damages, but are rather hoping to shatter the NCAA's strict model of amateurism. 20 plaintiffs in total, the group wants student-athletes to be able to market and sell their own image before turning pro.

O'Bannon was sure to acknowledge the benefits of playing in college on a scholarship, such as not paying tuition, room and board or his relationship with the late John Wooden. He also said he is still in contact with Jim Harrick, his former coach, and that he met his wife in school.

The NCAA has allowed itself to bend on its amateurism model slightly, for example allowing current student athletes to collect on their share of the recent lawsuit settlements without penalty. However, they see this case as their biggest test to protect that model.