Antitrust

November 4, 2011

Basketball Champion William Russell Commences New Efforts Against NCAA Antitrust Violations

William F. Russell, superstar National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Basketball Association, and Olympic basketball player, filed a class action complaint against the NCAA for antitrust damages and injunctive relief. Russell’s basketball career led him from two NCAA Championships while playing for the University of San Francisco to an Olympic Gold Medal win. He also played for the Celtics where his shot blocking and man-to-man defense compelled some to call him one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Russell claims that the NCAA requires student athletes to sign a release for the commercial use of their image in perpetuity. Russell alleges that the NCAA treats this release, which is ambiguous and uninformed, as a “perpetual license” and therefore the NCAA uses the players’ images even after they have left the league.

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