College athletes can seek cut of TV money: U.S. judge

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

College athletes can seek cut of TV money: U.S. judge

BY DAN LEVINE
SAN FRANCISCO Sat Nov 9, 2013 3:44pm EST

(Reuters) - A lawsuit brought by college athletes seeking television and videogame revenue can move forward, a U.S. judge has ruled, in a case that seeks to reshape traditional notions of sports amateurism in the United States.

In a decision on Friday, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland, California, ruled that a group of players could sue the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a class action, in an effort to change rules that bar athletes from earning money on their images. However, she also ruled that athletes could not seek money damages for financial losses they suffered in the past.

The lawsuit takes on the highly lucrative business of college athletics, where universities reap billions of dollars from men's football and basketball, but players are not allowed to profit.

Filed in 2009, the case seeks to create a new system where broadcasting and videogame revenue would go into a fund. Players would not get a cut of it while they were actively playing, but they would get money after they were no longer NCAA-eligible, said Sathya Gosselin, an attorney for the athletes.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/09/us-ncaa-tv-lawsuit-idUSBRE9A80DC20131109

[malaise]

1. This is huge

Here comes the death of shamateurism

[tularetom]

2. Not a minute too soon IMO

The institutions and TV networks have made huge fortunes off the efforts of these young people while not even rewarding them with the education they were supposedly promised. They should at the very least be compensated for the benefit they have provided to the leeches that bled them dry.

[gopiscrap]

3. I fully agree

[WinkyDink]

5. How do you figure, re: education?

[xmas74]

7. I know someone playing for a DI school.

He plays football-in the SEC. In order to play he basically had to sign his life away for the next several years. They are given schedules of when to practice, when to attend class, when to study, when to eat and when to sleep. Some are even given exact diets of what they can and cannot eat. There is no chance to find a part time job, even off season, when the money might be needed. (Yes, the scholarship pays for school but it doesn't pay for things like clothes, hygiene items, a night at the movies, etc. )

The NCAA and the universities make millions off the kids, usually at the risk to the kids. Most will never be good enough to go pro and those that are do risk injury while in school-and blowing their chance at the pros. At the very least, pay the kids like it's a job, which it is. I'm not saying to make them millionaires but allow all DI schools to decide on X amount as a monthly stipend that could be used for snacks, clothes, toothpaste, cell phone payments, car and insurance payment (since other students have part time jobs to pay for them)-even just a night at a buffet and movies or bowling. At the very least, gift cards that could be used at local businesses, which right now is not allowed.

[WinkyDink]

4. So the scholarships are not enough? These athletes want to be pros, too? Fine; give the scholarships

to non-athletes.

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. This is the problem I have, as a huge football fan.

I would have loved to have gone to U of M, but I could not afford it. These athletes get to go to college. And scholarships are expensive. Shame on that judge. What I believe is that every paying student to that school should, at the very least, get free season tickets throughout their four years. After all, they're the ones that are exploited.

[xmas74]

8. The problem is that you can't even hold down a part time job

at a number of the DI schools, even off season, in accordance with the scholarship offer. Some student athletes will be fine-Mom and Dad can afford to send some money. But for poor students, this leaves them with no way of even earning enough to buy a movie ticket for a night out while the school is making millions off them. How about toothpaste? When you can't get even a part time job to earn a bit of spending money then there is a problem.

The young men and women playing in DI often sign away several years of their lives. They get a free education but it's not as easy as everyone thinks. I know someone playing DI football-the rules are incredible. After what I've learned from him, I've changed my mind about how I feel about student athletes.

[WinkyDink]

13. ioh, brother, can't afford toothpaste. Right.

[xmas74]

17. I work in a DII schoool and yes, there are students who cannot afford toothpaste.

We have a food pantry on campus that includes some hygiene items, such as toothpaste. Guess what ? Athletes cannot receive anything from there because it goes against NCAA codes about "gifts".

There are wealthy athletes and there are very poor athletes who receive no financial support from home.

http://www.ucmo.edu/daily/readMore.cfm?digestID=417685264FFE7E6EF1C

One of the top requests is for hygiene items, such as toothpaste, soap and deodorant.

[RadiationTherapy]

9. No, the problem is is that universities are basically farm teams for the NFL.

Scholarships ought to go to scholars, except that football contributes such a great amount of money to a university that teams look for exceptional athletes regardless of scholarly ability. By separating athletic talent from academic talent via TV revenues, etc, we may be able to get out of the situation of potential scholars missing out on scholarships given to athletes.

[xmas74]

10. That is another great point.

In order to play for the NFL you almost have to play in college-and the conference makes a big difference in what round you will be drafted, if at all.

[WinkyDink]

15. Really? So, like, Stanford ought not give tennis scholarships?

http://www.gostanford.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30600&ATCLID=208431183

(As a Penn Stater, I know all about the $$ generated by football and how it supports the ENTIRE athletic program.)

[RadiationTherapy]

16. Really? You don't already know I meant football?

Fine. I mean football.

[Incitatus]

11. There are academic scholarships.

I believe a portion of that money does come from sports programs. College is damn expensive and I agree more should be done to make it more affordable. I also recognize that college athletes have a lot of demands on their time aside from their classes, training, traveling for games, etc. Those additional time demands would make it very difficult to also hold down a part-time job. Even with a full scholarship a little spending money would be nice. I don't think these students are seeking anything like professional pay, but they should get something.

For the record, I don't care about any sports and I find the fascination/obsession some people have with them a tad strange.

[xmas74]

12. Most scholarships do not stop a student from finding work.

DI football-good luck. Many are given exact schedules of how their days will play out, both in season and for the off season. Jobs are not part of the picture.

A small monthly stipend would be enough for a student to pay for incidentals such as a fun night at an inexpensive buffet with friends or a movie, a new pair of jeans, toothpaste and deodorant, even a cell phone payment. It doesn't even have to be very much-a couple hundred would probably be enough and it would cut down on problems sometimes associated with money issues later.

[Logical]

14. A full ride with room and board, especially out of state, is a very good salary for these kids......

If you added up the hours, I bet it is like a full time minimum wage job. What many college kids have to do anyway.

Stupid.