NCAA athletes' amateur status goes on trial today as former college basketball players sue for the right to negotiate for compensation for appearing in televised games without being stripped of their scholarships. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, which include former UCLA star Ed O'Bannon, have decried NCAA rules and policies as tantamount to a "price fixing conspiracy" where athletes are frozen out of a portion of the billions of dollars in revenue from broadcast rights and sponsors. The NCAA counters by stating that paying athletes could jeopardize many schools' athletic programs if they are not able to attract top talent in broadcast deals.
See "NCAA Fights Ex-Athletes in TV Money Trial Over Amateurism", Karen Gullo, Bloomberg News, June 8, 2014