Memoirs of Former NCAA Commissioner Became Evidence for the Player Image Antitrust Suit Against NCA

As any asbestos lawyer knows, the  writings of former executives often provide material evidence for litigation. It turns out the same is true for the antitrust suit against the NCAA regarding payment for use of player images.  The information is set out in an August  21, 2014 article in Bloomberg by Paul Barrett.  According to the article:

“Vaccaro gave Hausfeld a homework assignment: Read the confessional memoir of Walter Byers, the NCAA’s executive director from 1951 to 1987 and the man known as the governing body’s master builder. Published eight years after Byers left office, Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Exploiting College Athletes became a Rosetta stone for NCAA dissidents.

“Prosecutors and the courts,” Byers wrote, “should use antitrust laws to break up the collegiate cartel—not just in athletics but possibly in other aspects of collegiate life as well.” As Byers argued, “The college player cannot sell his own feet (the coach does that) nor can he sell his own name (the college will do that). This is the plantation mentality resurrected and blessed by today’s campus executives.” To Hausfeld, the memoir amounted to an invitation wrapped in a confession.”