Antitrust and Sports Injury

    For those of you who are Kentucky sports fans, or less likely Antitrust fans, you may be interested in yesterday's decision by the Sixth Circuit in Claude Bassett's antitrust case against the NCAA and the U.K. Athletic Association.  Bassett was, for the few of you who don't follow such things closely, a U.K. assistant football coach who resigned in 2000 in the face of allegations that he violated NCAA recruiting rules.  He claimed that other university employees encouraged him to do so and alleged that he and the others agreed that NCAA rules on the matter should be ignored.

    Following an internal investigation, the NCAA imposed sanctions on Bassett through 2010.  He alleged these sanctions amounted to a group boycott in violation of the Sherman Act.  Judge Hood and the Court of Appeals concluded his Complaint did not allege an effect on a commercial market and was, therefore, not within the scope of the Sherman Act.

    In an interesting aside to the antitrust claims, the Court agreed that even if there was an agreement between Bassett and other university employees to not report NCAA rules infractions, it would be void against public policy.

    Bassett was represented in the trial court and Court of Appeals by our friend and former colleague Bob Furnier and his partner Rasheed Simmonds.  (In the spirit of full disclosure, we were local counsel in the trial court).  Ed Stopher and Scott Davidson of Boehl Stopher represented the NCAA.  Kevin Henry, Steve Barker, Doug McSwain and others of Sturgill Turner represented the U.K. Athletic Association.  The decision is recommended for publication.