BLOCKBUSTER RULING! FEDERAL JUDGES RULES AGAINST NCAA!

In a crazy unexpected decision a federal judge ruled that the NCAA violates USA’s antitrust laws by restricting the compensation that college athletes can receive for use of their names, images and likeness. US district judge Claudia Wilken wrote in a 99-page decision (which you can find here–>PDF) “The Court finds that the challenged NCAA rules unreasonably restrain trade in the market for certain educational and athletic opportunities offered by NCAA Division I schools.”

The NCAA gets a minor win as Wilken ruled the NCAA could set a cap  as long as it allows at least $5,000 a year for big school football and basketball players. Ed O’Bannon and 19 others challenged the NCAA on their misuse of antitrust laws. Stating that the amount of time they devoted to the sport made it impossible to function like regular students. O’Bannon claimed that his job AT UCLA was too play basketball and that “I was an athlete masquerading as a student, I was there strictly to play basketball. I did basically the minimum to make sure I kept my eligibility academically so I could continue to play.”

Big Ten commish Jim Delany said that because of this ruling his conference could be no more.