If the NCAA is going down in the Ed O'Bannon anti-trust lawsuit, it is going down swinging.
USA Today has reported that the NCAA's attorney in the lawsuit concerning the use student-athletes' names and likenesses for commercial purposes said the plaintiffs' lead lawyer, Michael Hausfeld was "grandstanding" and being "offensive" in voicing concerns of an NCAA retaliation against a current student-athlete who is being added to the class-action lawsuit.
Ed O'Bannon is a former UCLA basketball player leading the lawsuit contending that the NCAA improperly used his image and likeness, making a profit off them through contracts with television networks and video game makers.
Last week, a Florida judged ruled that a current student-athlete can join the list of plaintiffs.
In June, Hausfeld told the U.S. District Court judge, Claudia Wilken, that he was concerned about reprisals against a current student-athlete who joined O'Bannon's suit.
Earlier this week, Hausfeld wrote to NCAA attorney Gregory Curtner, asking Curtner to sign a legal stipulation on behalf of the association that asked the NCAA to agree "on behalf of itself, its member conferences, and its institutions ... that the NCAA, its member conferences, and its institutions (including any of their departments or teams) will not take, or cause to be taken, any adverse action of retaliation, intimidation, or coercion, including loss of scholarship, eligibility, or playing time, against any current student athlete who joins this litigation as a plaintiff," USA Today reported.
In a letter released by the NCAA, Curtner expressed his dismay.
"Your July 8, 2013 request for a stipulation regarding hypothetical 'retaliation' against plaintiffs is completely unnecessary and, given the NCAA's prior representations on this topic, offensive," Curtner wrote.
"There is no good faith basis for your contention that a current student-athlete participating in litigation against the NCAA has any worry of 'retaliation, intimidation or coercion' from the NCAA. We have repeatedly made it clear to you in the course of this litigation that participation in a lawsuit against the NCAA has no effect on eligibility, and we can now only conclude that your letter has more to do with grandstanding for the press than actual concern for any potential current student-athletes seeking to join your lawsuit, or any attempt to move this litigation to a just conclusion."
Curtner pointed out that the NCAA flew basketball legends Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson, who are also among the plaintiffs, to Atlanta for the Final Four, paying for their hotel and providing them full access to the NCAA's VIP amenities at the event.
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