Chalmers, ex-players sue over Insanity discounts

• Mark Schlabach, ESPN

  • Senior Citizen WriterJul 2, 2024, 09:23 AM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of 7 books on college football
  • Graduate of the University of Georgia

Sixteen former men’s college basketball players, including Kansas stars Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins, UConn guard Ryan Boatright and Arizona guard Jason Terry, have taken legal action against the NCAA and multiple conferences for the unauthorized use of their name, image and similarity in March Madness highlights.Chalmers struck a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to connect Memphis and force overtime in the 2008 national championship game. After Chalmers made one of the most remarkable shots in NCAA guys’s basketball history, the Jayhawks dominated the Tigers in overtime to win 75-68 for their first championship game in 20 seasons.Defendants in the class-action claim, which was submitted Monday in the

U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, also consists of the Big East, Pac-12, Big 10, Big 12, SEC, ACC and Turner Sports Interactive.”Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins, and other members of the 2008 Kansas Jayhawks National Championship males’s basketball team have been paid absolutely nothing by the NCAA or its partner TSI for the continued usage of their names, images and likenesses in promoting and generating income from March Insanity,” the claim said.” The same holds true for countless previous NCAA athletes throughout all sports whose names, images, and similarities are continuing to be displayed for commercial purposes by the NCAA, its member conferences, and its partners such as TSI.” Ex-Kansas player Mario Chalmers is among a group of players who have actually filed a claim declaring inappropriate use of their NIL by means of NCAA competition highlights. Chalmers’ 3-pointer helped the Jayhawks to the title in 2008. Getty Images

The claim implicated the accuseds of “methodically and deliberately” misappropriating the complainants’ publicity rights while “gaining scores of countless dollars from Complainants and likewise situated class members’ participation in competitors.”

The suit accused the NCAA and the other accuseds of breaking the federal Sherman Antitrust Act through unreasonable restraint of trade, group boycott and rejection to deal.Editor’s Picks

“The NCAA has for years leveraged its monopoly power to exploit student-athletes from the moment they enter college up until long after they end their college professions,” the lawsuit said. “The NCAA has conspired with conferences, colleges, licensing companies, and clothing business to fix the cost of student-athlete labor near zero and make student-athletes unwitting and unremunerated life time pitchmen for the NCAA.”

Other complainants in the lawsuit include 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).

On June 10, 10 members of the 1983 NC State men’s basketball group sued the NCAA and the Collegiate Licensing Business in Wake County Superior Court in North Carolina for unapproved use of their name, image and likeness. Known as the “Cardiac Pack,” coach Jim Valvano’s team beat heavily favored Houston 54-52 on Lorenzo Charles’ dunk in the final seconds.

“For more than 40 years, the NCAA and its co-conspirators have systematically and intentionally abused the Cardiac Load’s promotion rights– including their names, images, and likenesses– associated with that game and that play, gaining scores of countless dollars from the Heart Pack’s famous victory,” the claim said.On May 22, the NCAA’s board of guvs voted to accept settlement terms in your house v. NCAA and related antitrust cases. As part of the arrangement, which has yet to be authorized by a federal judge, the NCAA will provide more than $2.7 billion to former athletes over the next decade for back damages associated to the association’s name, image and likeness constraints, sources previously told ESPN.The conferences also consented to create a system that will allow schools to pay approximately$20 million annually in earnings sharing to athletes.ESPN’s Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel contributed to this

report.