Six football players Thursday became the first current athletes to join a lawsuit against the NCAA pertaining to the use of college athletes' names and likeness.
Arizona linebacker Jake Fischer, Arizona place kicker Jake Smith and Clemson defensive back Darius Robinson joined a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Califiornia against video game manufacturer Electronic Arts and the nation's leading collegiate trademark licensing and marketing firm, Collegiate Licensing Co.
Also added to the case are Vanderbilt senior linebacker Chase Garnham, Minnesota senior tight end Moses Alipate and Minnesota senior wide receiver Victor Keise.
The addition of the new players came as part of filing in which lawyers for the plaintiffs also amended their complaint with the inclusion of a series of new and scathing allegations against each of the defendants.
Among them are that:
-- Then-NCAA president Myles Brand in "public remarks" in 2008, "conceded" that "(t)he right to license or sell one's name, image, and likeness is a property right with economic value."
-- EA and CLC "actively lobbied for, and obtained, administrative interpretations of those rules that permitted greater uncompensated exploitation of student-athletes' names, images, and likenesses. Where their formal efforts were unsuccessful, EA and CLC obtained agreement from the NCAA to permit greater uncompensated exploitation of student-athletes' names, images, and likenesses notwithstanding the rules."
-- In August 2007, when licensing of video games was being negotiated, EA "offered to establish a 'players' fund' for the use of the (student-athletes') names, images, and likenesses. CLC, negotiating on the NCAA's behalf, instead suggested that the money should go to the NCAA. EA agreed to pay a kicker to NCAA in order 'to align interests and incentivize all parties to help build the category with new rights.' EA made this offer contingent on 'no royalties . . . to a player fund.' "
NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said via text message the association "will reserve comment until we have had time to read the amended complaint."
Until Thursday, the named plaintiffs in the case were a group of former college athletes, headed by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon and including all-time greats Oscar Robertson and Bill Russell.
Fischer is a 6-0, 222-pound senior from Oro Valley, Ariz., who led the Wildcats with 119 tackles last season, 76 of them solo. He was an all-Pacific-12 Conference honorable mention selection on the field and a Pac-12 first-team all-academic honoree off it.
Smith is a junior kicker from suburban Philadelphia who began his college career at Syracuse and transferred to Youngstown State before coming to Arizona, where he is expected to compete for the starting role.
Robinson is a 5-10, 170-pound senior cornerback from College Park, Ga., who missed half of each of the last two seasons with injuries. He has 33 tackles and 3 interceptions in 25 games, including 12 as a starter.r
Garnham is a 6-3, 236-pound middle linebacker who led Vanderbilt in 2012 with seven sacks, and has been a key member on defense the past two seasons.
Alipate is a 6-5, 281-pound senior who has never appeared in game for the Gophers. His father, Tuineau, played in 24 games for the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings from 1994-95.
And Keise is a 6-1, 188-pound senior who has played in 14 games in his career, catching one pass during his freshman season.
None of the athletes could be reached for immediate comment.
"We are aware that Jake Smith and Jake Fischer are now plaintiffs in the lawsuit," Arizona AD Greg Byrne said in a statement. "While we do not support the lawsuit, we support their right to be involved and express their opinion. They are two fine young men and we are glad they are part of our program and University."
Arizona spokeswoman Molly O'Mara said Fischer and Smith would not do any interviews immediately and that Fischer will address the matter at the Pac-12 media day July 26.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled earlier this month that the suit could be amended to add new plaintiffs who are current players. She discussed granting permission for that at a June hearing on whether to certify the suit as a class action. She has not yet ruled on that question.
Thursday's news came one day after the NCAA said it would not renew its licensing agreement with EA Sports. The NCAA said it was confident of its legal position for use of its name and logo, but "given the current business climate and costs of litigation" it won't enter a new deal after the current one expires in 2014.
That doesn't necessarily mean that NCAA Football 2014 will be the video game's final edition, as NCAA member schools license their own trademarks for it.
In the O'Bannon suit, he and the other plaintiffs allege that the defendants violated anti-trust law by conspiring to fix at zero the amount of compensation athletes can receive for the use of their names, images and likenesses in products or media while they are in school and by requiring athletes to sign forms under which they allegedly relinquish in perpetuity all rights pertaining to the use of the names, images and likenesses in ways including TV contracts, rebroadcasts of games, and video games.
If Wilken certifies the suit as a class action, it could allow thousands of former and current football and men's basketball players to join the case. That could create the possibility of a damages award in the billions of dollars. In addition, if the plaintiffs were to get everything they have said they are seeking, it would force the establishment of an entirely new compensation arrangement for current NCAA Bowl Subdivision football players and Division I men's basketball players -- one under which "monies generated by the licensing and sale of class members' names, images and likenesses can be temporarily held in trust" until their end of their college playing careers.
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