Post by efg72 on Jul 3, 2023 16:57:42 GMT -5
Ivy Leaguers blast schools' bid to dismiss lawsuit over athletic scholarship bans
By Mike Scarcella
June 30, 20232:04 PM EDTUpdated 3 days ago
Brown University sits in downtown Providence
The Van Wickle Gates stand at the edge of the main campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S., August 16, 2022. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Summary
Law Firms
Plaintiffs call schools' campus culture claim "contrived"
Eight member schools deny antitrust violations
June 30 (Reuters) - A prospective class of current and former student athletes challenging the Ivy League's ban on student athletic scholarships told a U.S. judge on Thursday that the schools' effort to quickly end the lawsuit was "contrived" and should be denied.
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The filing by the student plaintiffs who are suing the Ivy League's eight member schools for alleged antitrust violations said the lawsuit in Connecticut federal court should move forward.
The schools' agreement to bar scholarships for athletes "has no procompetitive justifications, but is merely meant to benefit defendants' bottom lines," the plaintiffs' lawyers told U.S. District Judge Alvin Thompson.
The students' filing called the Ivy League "big business" and said its sports conference "comprises eight of the wealthiest commercial organizations in America" with collective endowments of more than $170 billion.
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The lawsuit accused the Ivy League's schools of a price-fixing agreement tied to the restrictions on scholarships for athletic services, in violation of U.S. antitrust law.
The case filed in March marked another challenge to restrictions on compensation for student athletes playing for schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I, the top level of U.S. college sports.
After a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision, the NCAA started to allow schools to pay athletes $5,980 in annual academic awards. A separate class action filed in April asserted that the NCAA had denied compensation for academic achievement to thousands of current and former student athletes.
The Ivy League schools stand alone among the Division I schools that do not offer athletic scholarships.
Defense lawyers for Brown University and the other Ivy League schools raised a number of challenges to the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages and an injunction to open up scholarships to student athletes.
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The schools assert they have power to set their rules for financial aid and compensation for student athletes. Attorneys for the schools also argued the sports scholarship ban is meant to "foster campus cultures that do not prioritize athletics."
Plaintiffs' lawyers in their filing said promoting a campus "culture" was not a valid justification for denying athletic scholarships. The lawyers called the argument "factually unsupported" and "contrived for litigation."
A Brown spokesperson had no immediate comment on Friday, and a lawyer for the school at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius did not immediately respond to a messages seeking comment.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a similar request.
The case is Choh et al v. Brown University et al, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, No. 3:23-cv-00305-AWT.
For plaintiffs: Eric Cramer of Berger Montague; Velvel Freedman of Freedman Normand Friedland; and Stephen Kindseth of Zeisler & Zeisler
For defendants: Deirdre Daly of Finn Dixon & Herling; for Brown: Jon Roellke of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Read more:
Ivy League defends ban on athletic scholarships in antitrust lawsuit
NCAA balks at athletes' $1.3 billion antitrust lawsuit, calling it speculative
U. Chicago first to settle financial aid price-fixing claims in U.S. court
NCAA hit with antitrust lawsuit over student-athlete payments
