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The NCAA lost another legal battle Friday as a federal judge barred the organization from enforcing its rules prohibiting name, image and likeness compensation for recruits by granting a preliminary injunction demanded by the states of Tennessee and Virginia.
It was another blow to the NCAA's ability to govern college sports and more than 500,000 athletes.
Gabe Feldman, a sports law professor at Tulane, said an act of Congress might save the NCAA even as he noted this was just a preliminary injunction in one district court with the NCAA expected to appeal. That would go to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overseeing Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan.
“There’s no question the NCAA has never faced more attacks from different areas at one time," Feldman said. “And things are snowballing. And I think that’s why there are so many serious discussions about how college sports needs to change and what those changes will look like.”
U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker in the Eastern District of Tennessee issued the injunction that undercuts what has been a fundamental principle of the NCAA's model of amateurism for decades: Third parties cannot pay recruits to attend a particular school.
The judge wrote the NCAA's stance likely violates antitrust law with Congress so far unwilling to give the association an exemption. The judge said athletes with a limited window are hurt by not being able to know their true value before committing to a school.
The decision led to questions about whether boosters will suddenly open the floodgates with offers to potential recruits. Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weinberg said the Cowboys had anticipated the decision but “we are awaiting further guidance from the Big 12 Conference and NCAA.”
