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Originally Posted by FakeTiger |
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As gamers we may not like where this lawsuit ends up going, but Keller has a very strong argument and is not the bad guy here. The real culprit is the NCAA. What Keller's suit is saying is that the NCAA forces all college athletes to sign a document that prevents the athlete from making money off of his or her likeness. However, the NCAA then goes out and makes money, as an institution, off of that very likeness.
Video games are the example here, but it occurs in all areas of NCAA publicity. Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford's images were all over publicity for the BCS championship yet neither player received compensation (other than their scholarships) for the use. It is a system that is set up to benefit the NCAA, the sponsors, the universities and the fans, but not the players (at least not directly).
As an avid gamer and fan of NCAA series (except the last two lousy versions), I will be as disappointed as everyone else if this results in EA and the NCAA acting in such a way as to reduce our enjoyment of the game; however, I can understand the viewpoint of the athletes that feel their likeness is being used without appropriate compensation.
The problem could be solved if EA would have simply utilized generic player likenesses in the base roster but allow the community to fully and easily edit every aspect of the player and roster. My fear is that the greed of the NCAA may result in this option being taken away as a result of the lawsuit. It would be a shame for this to happen but it is a possibility.
As for the final comment by the player who agrees with the lawsuit but loves the game. The positions aren't mutually exclusive. The athletes love the game and love their likenesses being in the game, but I'm sure they would also love to get paid for the use of this likeness rather than seeing all revenues go to EA and the NCAA.
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NCAA players do get compensated twofold. One, they get a free ride to a diploma from a higher institute of learning. Two, they get a stage in which to audition for some of the highest paid labor jobs in the world.
Is it fair the NCAA and EA makes millions and it doesn't trickle down to the players? Not really but since the players are already getting a clear advantage in life by partaking of the system one can hardly say they are victims.
The article mentions Tebow and the comparisons. His hometown being wrong is a great example of what EA has no doubt built-in to potentially quash any lawsuits like this. Just enough errors to show that while there is likeness there it isn't 100%.
As I've stated before, the fact that the NCAA can sell jerseys of #2 like crazy for the Buckeyes and not give Pryor a dime is proof that they will never lose a lawsuit like this. When you go to a Bucks game and everyone and their brother is wearing #2 we all know it is Pryor's jersey but legally it's just a number. That is no different for the video game. We all know it's Tebow but EA doesn't ship it with it saying it's Tebow so it's not Tebow.
FAIL.