Sports

Ed O'Bannon Attorneys File to Proceed Without Jury, Plaintiffs Not Seeking Individual Damages

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Ed O'Bannon and his fellow plaintiffs in class action lawsuit against the NCAA have asked that the jury be taken out of the upcoming trial.

According to USA Today, the plaintiffs met a pretrial midnight deadline (PT) in issuing a statement saying none of the complainants want individual damages. O'Bannon and a group of current and former college athletes are suing the NCAA for improperly profiting off student-athletes' name, image and likeness.

The two motions from the plaintiffs are connected. Because each plaintiff is not seeking individual damages, the group will now request the case's judge Claudia Wilken will hear and rule on the lawsuit. Her ruling would determine whether or not the NCAA keeps its limit on what Division I football and basketball athletes can earn for their play.

Wilken must decide on what she called "various scheduling issues" and whether or not the case will go to trial on June 9 in Oakland, Calif. The NCAA also asked Wilken to dismiss everything relating to video games.

The NCAA could reasonably get its way with their filing because EA Sports is no longer involved in the lawsuit. Originally, O'Bannon noticed himself in a college basketball video game even though he did not grant anyone permission nor did he receive compensation.

He included EA Sports and Collegiate Licensing Company in his original lawsuit, but they settled out for an undisclosed amount, leaving the NCAA on its own. EA Sports also announced it would no longer produce a college football video game, which was one of its best-selling franchises.

The NCAA makes billions of dollars in revenue from tickets, television contracts, advertising, merchandise sales and more. However, it has strict restrictions against their student-athletes receiving any kind of compensation.

This case is more than five years old and has been delayed several times amidst attempts by the NCAA to have it dismissed.

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