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NCAA student athlete pay lawsuit overview:
- Who: The NCAA is arguing that Division 1 student athletes should not be considered employees, despite a Supreme Court ruling last year which opened the door for them to receive education-related payments.
- Why: The NCAA says a group of current and former Division 1 student athletes are only picking and choosing parts of the Supreme Court’s decision which benefit their goal of being granted employee status.
- Where: The NCAA made its argument in the Third Circuit.
The NCAA is continuing to argue that its student athletes should not be considered employees despite a Supreme Court ruling last year which allowed them to receive compensation for their involvement in sports.
In a motion filed to the Third Circuit last week, the NCAA is arguing that a group of current and former NCAA D-1 athletes don’t properly understand the Supreme Court’s decision, which got rid of limitations on payment for student athletes.
The Supreme Court ruling reportedly sidestepped the question of the amateurism status of an NCAA student athlete, which is at the center of the association’s current argument, reports Law360.
NCAA accusing athletes of ‘picking and choosing’ parts of prior Supreme Court decision
The decision—NCAA v. Alston—made it possible for student athletes to receive education-related payments, reports Law360, however the NCAA argues the athletes are picking and choosing when it comes to what parts of the decision apply to their pursuit of employee status.
“They insist that Alston be read narrowly at precisely the point the Court speaks broadly, reaching beyond the narrow antitrust challenge at issue,” the NCAA wrote, in its brief.
The NCAA added that “in the next breath” the student athletes are urging for a “broad reading of Alston where the court speaks narrowly, in holding that ‘amateurism’ does not forestall rule-of-reason antitrust scrutiny of the bylaws at issue.”
The athletes’ attempt to be recognized as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act was given a green light by a Pennsylvania district judge last year—a decision the NCAA quickly appealed, reports Law360.
Last year, a class action lawsuit accusing the NCAA of discriminating against students from historically black colleges and universities was given the okay to proceed by a federal judge in Indiana.
Do you believe that Division 1 student athletes should be considered employees? Let us know in the comments!
The athletes are represented by Michael J. Willemin, Taylor J. Crabill and Renan Varghese of Wigdor LLP, and Paul L. McDonald of PL McDonald Law LLC.
The NCAA student athlete pay lawsuit is Johnson, et al. v. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-05230, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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