NCAA Responds To Tennessee’s Lawsuit Asking For Restraining Order
The NCAA argued that there is no basis for an injunction to temporarily invalidate the NCAA’s regulations in its legal response to the complaint filed on Saturday by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia over the legitimacy of the name, image, and likeness standards surrounding recruitment.
NCAA Responds To Tennessee’s Lawsuit Asking For Restraining Order
The case, which was filed earlier this week, seeks a temporary restraining order to stop the NCAA from implementing its NIL recruitment regulations, claiming that they violate antitrust laws.
It is evident from the complaint that the athletes want the NCAA to get out of their way when it comes to earning money through NIL. The players’ inability to make money in a market that includes the transfer portal is another issue raised by the case against the NCAA.
There are two types of people when it comes to this NCAA lawsuit:
1) Fans of other schools who are anti-Tennessee, no matter what
and
2) People who have taken the time to read what is actually happening, and see that the NCAA is the bad guy… and that many media members are…
— Tavares Kears (@GBOVFL22) February 3, 2024
The Tennessee chancellor, Donde Plowman, wrote a letter to NCAA president Charlie Baker on Monday mentioning the existence of an NCAA investigation into various possible rule breaches with NIL at Tennessee. The probe was made public on Monday.
In response to a lawsuit filed by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Tennessee, the NCAA had until Saturday night to reply. It turns out that their main defense of why a court shouldn’t issue a temporary restraining order was that doing so would “invite chaos” into an already volatile scenario involving NIL.
NCAA responds to the antitrust lawsuit filed this week by AG’s from Tennessee and Virginia as the battle over NIL rights unfolds.
‘There is no reason to upend this process, invite chaos on a moment’s notice, and transform college sports’
Read: https://t.co/9xYbnyxZGc pic.twitter.com/2kcJdDyTP6
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) February 4, 2024
Before the deadline of 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, a 25-page reply to the case was filed in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Tennessee.
In order to allow a federal judge to hear arguments on February 13 over whether to suspend enforcement while the court evaluates the challenge to the NCAA rules, the states of Tennessee and Virginia have requested a restraining order that would halt the implementation of different NCAA rules governing NIL benefits for collegiate athletes.
By February 6th, the day before the Division I football regular signing period, when prospects can sign a letter of intent with a university, Tennessee and Virginia requested a temporary restraining order. In December, there was also an early signing period.
Analyzing the state of Tennessee and Virginia’s lawsuit against the NCAA. If you’re a capitalist, you should despise the NCAA, it’s the enemy of free markets and fair compensation for talent: pic.twitter.com/cy3H76JjkN
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 31, 2024
The NCAA views this as “pay-for-play,” or an enticement to sign, which has raised concerns in this new era of collegiate athletics. The NCAA doesn’t appear to be aware of the fact that the regulations set forth when NIL was initially established were so rudimentary that colleges thought they were just ready to be breached.
“By restricting NIL discussions for prospective college athletes, the NCAA’s current policy restricts schools from competing to arrange NIL compensation for prospective college athletes and suppresses athletes’ NIL compensation by deterring the free movement of labor,” the complaint stated.
The NCAA's legal response to the Tennessee/Virginia lawsuit over NIL recruiting is in. It argues:
– Tennessee's own state law bars NIL for recruiting
– Case fails to show irreparable harm
– Court relief is to preserve status quo and NCAA rules are status quo
– Would create chaos pic.twitter.com/sU0XMUQfwi— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) February 3, 2024
NCAA attorneys responded to the complaint by stating unequivocally that a “moment notice” would be caused if a temporary restraining order was granted and Pandora’s box was opened about the use of NIL as an enticement to sign a recruit.
“There is no reason to upend this process, invite chaos on a moment’s notice, and transform college sports into an environment where players and schools match up based primarily on the dollars that can change hands,” the NCAA said.
It is obvious that the NCAA is concerned about something that is already taking place in the collegiate sports industry, particularly with regard to what most coaches refer to as “free agency.”
The NCAA responded Saturday night to the lawsuit filed this week by AGs in Tennessee and Virginia.
The response argues allowing high school NIL inducements would throw off the competitive balance of college sports.
More via @PeteNakos_: https://t.co/DehFjgejNX pic.twitter.com/gWhVgiMIcH
— On3 NIL (@On3NIL) February 4, 2024
“The NCAA rules Plaintiffs challenge are, and have long been, the status quo. Plaintiffs are the ones seeking to upend those rules, but they have done nothing to tailor their request to the harms asserted. Plaintiffs’ request to enjoin specific NCAA rules is underdeveloped, underthought, and underexplained,” the NCAA noted in its response.
A longer-term suspension while the matter is being determined is not guaranteed by the judge’s decision to award a temporary restraining order.
Tennessee has until Sunday at 6 p.m. EST to react to the NCAA’s answer.
FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE-
