OAKLAND — A class action challenging the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s long-standing rules barring student-athletes from cashing in on their names and likenesses is barreling toward trial.
Considering cross-motions for summary judgment at a hearing on Thursday, U.S. District Chief Judge Claudia Wilken said she does not expect to issue an order for either side that will knock out the case. A class of current and former college athletes, who played on Division I men’s football and basketball teams between 1953 and the present, argue that NCAA policies, which bar them from striking group deals to license their names and likenesses for use in video games and television broadcasts, violate antitrust laws.
