Hall of Fame basketball player Oscar Robertson is among three former college athletes suing the National Collegiate Athletic Association and Electronic Arts Inc. for the alleged illegal use of their images.
The former players say they have been prevented from receiving compensation “in connection with the commercial exploitation of their images, likenesses and/or names following their cessation of intercollegiate athletic competition.” They accuse the NCAA of violating antitrust laws in a suit filed yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. They’re among at least 25 former college athletes seeking compensation for the use of their images following their university careers, the lawsuit said.
Robertson spent 14 years in the National Basketball Association with the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks after becoming the top pick in the 1960 draft. He played in 12 All-Star games and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980. Before joining the Royals, Robertson played for the University of Cincinnati teams that finished third in the NCAA national men’s basketball tournaments in 1959 and 1960.
Joining Robertson in the suit are Tate George, who played for the University of Connecticut, and Ray Ellis, a former defensive back for Ohio State University’s football team.
Top Five Play George’s performance in Connecticut’s 1990 round of 16 game, in which he caught a 90-foot pass, turned and converted it into a basket at the buzzer for a win against Clemson, was named one of the top five NCAA shots by ESPN Inc., the lawsuit said.
McDonald’s Corp. used the footage for an advertisement this year without compensating the player, the suit said.
No one answered the telephone at NCAA offices after hours. Electronic Arts spokesman Jeff Brown didn’t immediately answer an e-mail.
The NCAA, on its website, said it “opposes student-athlete exploitation. In many cases, the exploitation is subtle and indirect so that a student-athlete may well have no knowledge or awareness that his or her reputation, image or name is being used for these commercial purposes. Combating this type of exploitation remains a challenge.” The case is Oscar P. Robertson, et al v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, et al, 3:11-cv-00388, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
