Two former KU basketball players (& others) sue NCAA over NIL use from March Madness

Former University of Kansas men’s basketball players Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins are two of 16 former college players who have filed suit against the NCAA and several conferences — including the Big 12 — for alleged unauthorized use of their name, image and likeness in March Madness highlights, The Star has confirmed.

ESPN first reported news of the lawsuit Tuesday.

The players who filed a class-action lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York also include former Missouri players Alex Oriakhi (also played at UConn) and Matt Pressey, plus Ryan Boatright (UConn), Jason Terry (Arizona), DeAndre Daniels (UConn), Roscoe Smith (UConn/UNLV), Vincent Council (Providence), 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).

Defendants in the case are the Big 12, plus the Big East, Pac-12, Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Turner Sports Interactive.

A source close to the situation told The Star that the University of Kansas athletic department is not being sued by any of the players in the case.

“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 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 read, as first reported by ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach.

Chalmers’ 3-point shot that forced overtime in KU’s national title win over Memphis in 2008 has been viewed countless times, sometimes in conjunction with advertising and other promotional materials.

Chalmers told The Star he had no comment on the lawsuit at this time. Collins and the Big 12 have also been asked for comment.

According to Schlabach, the lawsuit accuses the defendants of “systematically and intentionally” misappropriating the players’ publicity rights while “reaping scores of millions of dollars from plaintiffs and similarly situated class members’ participation in competition.”

ESPN said “the lawsuit accused the NCAA and the other defendants of violating the federal Sherman Antitrust Act through unreasonable restraint of trade, group boycott and refusal to deal.”

“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 class-action complaint read. “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 Star has obtained the class-action complaint, which explains the case in detail. A jury trial has been “demanded” by the representation of the 16 players.

The introduction to the complaint reads: “On April 7, 2008, the Kansas Jayhawks and Memphis Tigers men’s basketball teams were matched in the NCAA national championship game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The Jayhawks were down by nine points with 2:12 left in the game before mounting an incredible comeback. Down 63-60 with only 10.8 seconds left, Kansas inbounded the ball in their backcourt to Sherron Collins, who dribbled up the right side of the court and passed to Mario Chalmers behind the 3-point line.

“With barely any room to shoot and 3 seconds left in the game, Chalmers launched one of the most iconic shots in the history of men’s college basketball — ‘Mario’s Miracle’ — that tied the score and sent the game into overtime, where the Jayhawks went on to beat the Tigers and win the national title by a score of 75-68.

“Since that day, ‘Mario’s Miracle’ has been replayed countless times for commercial purposes in live television broadcasts, advertisements, online videos, and other forms of media. For example, on the NCAA.com website, users can today watch various videos of ‘Mario’s Miracle,’ including ‘Remember That Time? Mario’s miracle;’ ‘The Mario Chalmers buzzer beater, from every angle’ and ‘NCAA Video Vault: Mario Chalmers’ CLUTCH 3-pointer, from every angle.’

The complaint continued ...

“Defendant NCAA and its partner Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. (TSI) use these videos of ‘Mario’s Miracle’ for a commercial purpose. Upon information and belief, the NCAA and TSI earn commercial advertising revenues from the views of these videos, and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, now officially known as ‘March Madness’ — which generates close to $1 billion in annual revenue for the NCAA, and with broadcast rights worth nearly $20 billion over the next decade — is promoted by the NCAA and its partners through the countless replays of legendary March Madness moments like ‘Mario’s Miracle.’

“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 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 official court document complaint goes on to say the 16 plaintiffs “are former elite NCAA student-athletes. Plaintiffs include members of the 1997, 2008, 2011 and 2014 NCAA Champion Men’s Basketball teams, whose names, images and likenesses have been put on display by defendants since their decorated collegiate athletic careers.”

The plaintiffs maintain: “Since the founding of our country, use of a person’s image in an advertisement without valid consent has been illegal.”

The plaintiffs are seeking compensation ostensibly to be settled upon at the jury trial.

Former NCAA basketball players' lawsuit vs. NCAA/Conferences by The Kansas City Star on Scribd

“Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, now seek reasonable compensation for the appropriation of their names, images, and likenesses by the NCAA, its member conferences, and their partners and co-conspirators. Furthermore, since the NCAA’s illegal conduct continues to this day — notwithstanding the clear notice of the unlawfulness of its behavior provided by Alston and an increasing number of cases throughout the country — it needs to be stopped by way of a permanent injunction,” the court document read.

In June, 10 members of the 1983 NCAA championship NC State men’s basketball team sued the NCAA and the Collegiate Licensing Company in Wake County Superior Court in North Carolina for unauthorized use of their name, image and likeness.

“For more than 40 years, the NCAA and its co-conspirators have systematically and intentionally misappropriated the Cardiac Pack’s publicity rights — including their names, images, and likenesses — associated with that game and that play, reaping scores of millions of dollars from the Cardiac Pack’s legendary victory,” the lawsuit said as quoted by ESPN.

In May, the NCAA agreed to provide more than $2.7 billion to former athletes over the next 10 years for back damages related to the NCAA’s NIL restrictions, ESPN reported. The conferences also agreed to create a system that will allow schools to pay roughly $20 million per year in revenue sharing to athletes.