EA To Respond To Antitrust Claims Over Unpaid Student Athletes

A California judge has ordered Electronic Arts to respond to claims that it conspired with the National Collegiate Athletic Association to find a way around paying student athletes represented in its games. As reported by Bloomberg, the company has 14 days to respond to claims in a lawsuit filed on behalf of former NCAA athletes that say that the ability for players to create their likenesses in EA's sports titles is a violation of both antitrust laws and the individual player's rights of publicity. In addition, the company also includes player statistics in its NCAA series that, while not using a player's actual name, do accurately represent jersey numbers, physical characteristics and even home towns, a practice that video game companies have utilized throughout most of sports gaming's history. The multiple plaintiffs in the class-action suit are seeking to force the NCAA to compensate former student athletes for the inclusion of their likenesses in the games. Both EA and the NCAA called for the suit to be dismissed by a federal court in February.