FanPost

O'Bannon over. Next up the Kessler lawsuit.

Hannah Foslien


So the Kessler lawsuit is starting to get more discussion now that O'Bannon is officially in the appeals phase.

For those who haven't heard about this guy. Jeffrey Kessler is a high profile sports labor lawyer. Maybe the biggest at this point. And he filed a class action lawsuit back in March listing the NCAA, the Power 5 conferences, and their member schools as defendants.

Here's what USA Today said about the suit back in March:

In the filing, the plaintiffs accuse the NCAA and five power conferences – the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC – with "price-fixing," creating artificial restraints by capping scholarship amounts to restrict competition. Its intent, Kessler told USA TODAY Sports, is to "strike down the rules that prevent (players) from getting a share" of the revenue generated by college football and basketball at the highest levels.

"Anybody watching the NCAA Tournament this week knows it's a huge commercial business," Kessler said. "The (College Football Playoff) is a huge commercial business. No one would say people who provide the essential services should not receive compensation – other than in big-time college sports."

The lawsuit joins others pending against the NCAA. But Kessler, who is noted for his work on behalf of the NFL's and NBA's player associations, said "the other fights are on secondary aspects. This is a frontal attack on the basic unfairness of the system."

Four players are listed as plaintiffs. Clemson defensive back Martin Jenkins, a junior, has eligibility left. Cal offensive lineman Bill Tyndall, UTEP tight end Kevin Perry and Rutgers basketball player J.J. Moore, all seniors, have completed their college careers.

Basically this is the suit that will result in collective bargaining for college players should the defendants lose. O'Bannon was intentionally narrow in its focus. Kessler's suit is not.

I listen to NPR on my drive to and from work. And this morning Frank Deford was talking about the Kessler suit. It got me to thinking about how I am going to react to "professional" student athletes and the eventual deconstruction of non-revenue sports at my alma mater and the other Big Ten schools.

Have to say... it's a game changer for me. I don't foresee my fandom continuing in that scenario. No trips north to see games. No more gamewatches here in town. No more wasted Saturdays watching complete days of football. (I'm not a basketball fan so no change there.) Which also means I'd stop reading and commenting at OTE & 11W.

Got me to thinking about how much of my identity is tied to my Ohio State fandom.

Anyways, I was just wondering how other OTE members see this affecting them.

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