If he were a player, Maryland coach Randy Edsall said he “most definitely” would join a lawsuit against the NCAA over the use of players’ likenesses.
“Because kids are committed to institutions and not to the NCAA,” Edsall said at the ACC Football Kickoff, “and the NCAA is using their likeness to make money, in my opinion, and that money is not going back to these kids.”
Former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon is seeking to sue the NCAA over an EA Sports video game, licensed by the NCAA, that uses players’ names, images and likenesses in the game. The NCAA ended the licensing agreement with EA Sports last week.
Clemson cornerback Darius Robinson, from College Park, recently joined the lawsuit with five other current players. His coach, Dabo Swinney, said he would “absolutely not” be a part of such a suit were he a player, though he supported Robinson’s right to join the lawsuit. Swinney said he supported enhancing athletic scholarships with stipends, but said he doesn’t want to “professionalize” college athletics.
“It’s a privilege to be a part of it,” Swinney said. “And anything that diminishes the value of an education, I’m against.
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