Fifteen years after Ed O’Bannon’s groundbreaking lawsuit, 大学运动员继续受益于更好地控制自己的名字, image and likeness
As an elder Millennial, 我记得我每年都在等待EA Sports大学体育电子游戏精选封面运动员的宣布. As CU celebrates Travis Hunter’s inclusion on this year’s cover, 现在是回顾学生运动员补偿斗争的好时机，这场斗争导致了NCAA大学橄榄球视频游戏系列的重新引入.
On July 19, thousands of video game players fired up their consoles and, for the first time in 11 years, 能建立一个王朝作为他们最喜欢的大学橄榄球项目吗. 然而，诉讼导致EA Sports和其他电子游戏开发商 abandon development of college sports video games 为了避免进一步的诉讼，帮助大学运动员获得对自己名字的控制权, image and likeness (NIL) and further compensation, altering the financial power structure in college sports.
Jared Bahir Browsh is an assistant teaching professor and director of the Critical Sports Studies Program in the Department of Ethnic Studies.
In 2009, Ed, 奥班农是前加州大学洛杉矶分校的杰出球员，在1995年的NCAA篮球锦标赛中被评为最杰出的球员, which UCLA won—was playing EA Sports’ NCAA Basketball 09 when he noticed a starting forward on the team 他有相同的属性，外表和号码，即使他没有在比赛中被点名. 体育视频游戏模仿经典球队是很常见的，包括, in this instance, the 1995 UCLA Bruins.
Sonny Vaccaro, a legendary basketball marketer, convinced O’Bannon to file a lawsuit alongside 19 other former college basketball players, 包括运动员劳工和民权倡导者奥斯卡·罗伯逊和比尔·拉塞尔. In 1970, Robertson, then-president of the NBA players’ association, 对NBA提起反垄断诉讼，要求将自由球员制度引入NBA, 而在1961年的季前赛中，拉塞尔在几名队友遭到抵制后领导了抵制 denied service in segregated Lexington, Kentucky. Both Hall of Famers were part of the boycott of the 1964 NBA All-Star Game that led to the NBA recognizing the player’s union.
与此同时，他还将迈克尔·乔丹签下耐克，并由马特·达蒙在电影中饰演 Air, Vaccaro has long been an advocate for amateur athletes. 奥班农是一个理想的首席原告，因为游戏中的形象无疑是他, not only matching his height, weight, shaved head and skin tone, but also his left-handedness. 奥班农已经不再打篮球了，所以他不想冒被报复的风险 Robertson and Curt Flood, 挑战后备条款的传奇棒球运动员 并帮助将自由市场引入职业体育，两人都面临.
The case went to trial in June 2014, and on Aug. 8, 加州北区法官克劳迪娅·安·威尔肯(Claudia Ann Wilken)裁定，扣留学生运动员的补偿金违反了反垄断法. She cited NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma这一决定早在30年前就结束了NCAA对大学橄榄球电视转播权的独家控制. Immediately before the trial, EA Sports和Collegiate Licensing Company以4000万美元达成和解, 而NCAA在上诉前被要求支付超过4200万美元，但更重要的是, 这为大学运动员薪酬和大学体育结构的根本变化奠定了基础.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals 2016年裁定，NCAA的规定是对薪酬的不公平限制, 但业余是一个需要坚持的重要概念，所有的补偿都需要与教育相关. As O’Bannon and the other plaintiffs waited for the trial, decision and results of the NCAA appeal, 其他一些现任和前任学生运动员也提起了诉讼. 最终，这些诉讼被合并成集体诉讼， NCAA v. Alston, 威尔肯法官做出了不利于NCAA的裁决，并确认该组织对赔偿施加了不公平的限制.
In 2019, California passed the first state law that permitted athletes to be compensated for NIL; the NCAA began allowing such compensation in 2021, although laws related to NIL still vary by state.
Ed O' bannon作为UCLA球员(左)和EA Sports的视频游戏肖像。 NCAA Basketball 09. (图片来源:Al Bello/Getty Images，左，EA Sports，右)
In 2021, the Alston case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, 谁的多数票决定认为阻止教育福利以外的薪酬是违反反垄断法的, 最终结束了奥班农案，距离威尔肯最初的判决已经过去了七年. Wilken also heard the recent case House v. NCAA, 其中被告——包括权力会议ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12和Pac 12同意达成协议，允许学校之间分享收入, conferences and student athletes. 众议院的案件也结束了奖学金限制，取而代之的是制定名单上限和 可能会为一级学校提供近800个奖学金.
有几起案件仍未判决，包括达特茅斯学院篮球运动员的诉讼， Johnson v. NCAA, 哪一个是大学运动员被认可为学校雇员的另一个努力, which is supported by the National Labor Relations Board. 还有一项诉讼是由前堪萨斯大学后卫提起的 Mario Chalmers and other former players immediately after the House settlement. 查尔默斯和他的共同原告声称，NCAA和媒体合作伙伴在未经许可的情况下利用前运动员的形象来推销大学体育和疯狂三月.
没有一个单一的诉讼可以解开NCAA的控制网，学校和运动员已经挑战了近半个世纪. 同样值得注意的是，这在很大程度上是由媒体收入的增长推动的, 首先是电视转播权，现在是品牌推广，并通过数字媒体扩大博彩平台推荐范围, which includes video games, streaming and social media platforms.
NCAA仍然是世界上最有影响力的体育组织之一, as evidenced by the Summer Olympics and Paralympics, 数百名运动员在ncaa附属大学接受训练后，在巴黎赢得了奖牌. 这些成功的运动员为他们的学校带来了关注和金钱, they deserve a fair share of the revenue. 重要的是，不要忘记埃德·奥班农(Ed O 'Bannon)在促进学生运动员更公平的薪酬体系方面所发挥的作用.
Top image: The cover of EA Sports' College Football 25, featuring Travis Hunter in the center. (Photo: EA Sports)
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