Several college football players are suing the NCAA over the use of their likenesses in licensed video games without compensation, in another sign of how decadent and depraved college athletics has become.
Don’t get me wrong: I fully support the claims of the students, who are portrayed in games like EA Sports’ NCAA Football without the use of their names, but with their height, weight, skin color, position, play style, home state, etc. All without seeing a dime for the unauthorized use.
“We signed a paper at the beginning of college saying we couldn’t benefit from our name,” said Keller, who is now 24 and living in Scottsdale, Ariz. “So why was the N.C.A.A. turning a blind eye to this and allowing EA Sports to take our likenesses and make big bucks off it?”
Good question. Is it about business or, ahem, education, dear NCAA?
In a statement, the N.C.A.A. said the complaints were without merit and that the video games did not violate N.C.A.A. rules. A spokesman for Electronic Arts declined to comment, citing the pending lawsuits. The lawsuits come as the N.C.A.A. is considering loosening restrictions on the marketing of individual players. Christine Plonsky, director of women’s athletics at the University of Texas, argued that there was no harm in showcasing the talents of individual athletes, within limits. She and her colleagues “don’t view uses of their imagery as exploitative, but mere evidence of participation,” she said in an e-mail message.
Oh. So it’s more akin to getting a free t-shirt for participating in a fun run, rather than marketing amateur athletes’ images to make big profits that aren’t shared directly with the athletes themselves.
Now, if only these jocks could develop a proper class consciousness, they could rise up against this pernicious form of scholarship slavery and seize control of the means of promotion for themselves.
(And yes, I’ve been lecturing on Marx this week.)
