If Boies, Schiller & Flexner and Hausfeld were looking for publicity for their newly announced joint sports law practice group, they certainly got it from last week’s landmark ruling in O’Bannon v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. The decision doesn’t just pave the way for college athletes to share in the revenue they generate. It also bolsters the consensus among courtroom observers that Michael Hausfeld and Boies Schiller’s William Isaacson got the best of a parade of NCAA witnesses at trial.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland ruled on Aug. 8 that the NCAA restrains competition among schools for recruits by prohibiting athletes from being paid for the use of their names, images and likenesses. The judge entered an injunction that effectively lets schools and conferences offer athletes stipends to cover living expenses and up to $5,000 per year in licensing revenue (the licensing revenue would be held in a trust fund until they graduate). The ruling followed a bench trial in which Hausfeld and Isaacson represented a class of current and former athletes who competed in top tier college football and basketball games.
