Sixteen former men's basketball players have sued the NCAA over the association's unauthorized use of their name, image and likeness in promoting March Madness.
The complaint includes the NCAA, as well as the Big East, Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC, and Turner Sports Interactive as defendants.
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"Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins, and other members of the 2008 Kansas Jayhawks National Championship men's basketball team have been paid nothing by the NCAA or its partner TSI for the continued use of their names, images and likenesses in promoting and monetizing March Madness," the lawsuit said, according to ESPN. "The same is true for thousands of former NCAA athletes across all sports whose names, images, and likenesses are continuing to be displayed for commercial purposes by the NCAA, its member conferences, and its partners such as TSI."
The lawsuit charges the defendants with having "systematically and intentionally" misappropriating the plaintiffs' publicity rights while "reaping scores of millions of dollars from Plaintiffs and similarly situated class members' participation in competition."
"The NCAA has for decades leveraged its monopoly power to exploit student-athletes from the moment they enter college until long after they end their collegiate careers," the lawsuit said. "The NCAA has conspired with conferences, colleges, licensing companies, and apparel companies to fix the price of student-athlete labor near zero and make student-athletes unwitting and uncompensated lifetime pitchmen for the NCAA."
The following players were listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit:
Alex Oriakhi (UConn/Missouri), DeAndre Daniels (UConn), Roscoe Smith (UConn/UNLV), Vincent Council (Providence), Matt Pressey (Missouri), Eugene Edgerson (Arizona), A.J. Bramlett (Arizona), Jason Stewart (Arizona), Gerard Coleman (Providence/Gonzaga), Justin Greene (Kent State), Ron Giplaye (Providence/East Tennessee State) and James Cunningham (Arizona State/Tulsa).
