Former University of California basketball player Ed O’Bannon is suing the NCAA over claims he has not been paid for the use of his image in DVDs and merchandise.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association lawsuit is at least the fourth related case this year. In May former Arizona State University quarterback Sam Keller sued the NCAA and computer game producer Electronic Arts for using athletes’ images in video games. Two players filed a similar suit against Electronic Arts in the New Jersey state court in June.
“This case is about former student athletes who have been totally foreclosed from participating in the marketplace,” said O’Bannon’s lawyer Jon T. King said in a phone interview with Bloomberg. “No other industry assumes it has the rights to someone forever without compensating them.”
NCAA spokesman Bob Williams said in a statement that the “NCAA categorically denies any infringement on former or current student-athlete likeness rights.”
Electronic Arts also uses O’Bannon’s image in its “NCAA Basketball 09” video game, according to the complaint.
