Implications Of O Bannon Decision, By Matthew J. Parlow

Matthew J. Parlow’s article “The Potential Unintended Consequences of the O’Bannon Decision” serves as a thorough exploration of the ramifications, both apparent and unforeseen, of Judge Claudia Wilken’s ruling in O’Bannon v. National College Athletic Association. Judge Wilken’s ruling in the case was truly monumental; it not only irreversibly altered the NCAA’s current student-athlete compensation policy but it also represented a defeat, or at the very least a non-victory, for an organization that had emerged victorious in all previous student-athlete compensation-related court cases. The implications of O’Bannon v. National College Athletic Association are certain for the present and near future – starting in the fall of 2016, universities …show more content…
National College Athletic Association; it is actually an examination of its potential ramifications. It is noted throughout the article that the Judge’s ruling only represents an incremental advancement for the cause of student-athletes. The author implies that the Judge believes that student-athletes should receive compensation but nevertheless only granted a meager amount of compensation to athletes in this case as an acknowledgement of the fact that full free-market compensation is unpractical in college athletics as presently construed. The incremental nature of the judge’s ruling means that student-athlete compensation is far from a settled …show more content…
National College Athletic Association that is discussed at length in the article is the effect that student-athlete compensation will have on parity in college sports. Some worry that in allowing for compensation of student-athletes, the divide between the haves and the have-nots in college sports will grow larger. There are currently three side to the aforementioned argument: those who belief that a growing divide will be unavoidable with the advent of student-athlete compensation, those who believe it can be avoided through negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement or something of that ilk, and those who believe that the divide between the haves and have-nots should be encouraged as it is part of what makes college sports great. Those who believe that student-athlete compensation will further the class divide in college are opposed to paying student-athletes because they believe it will effectively ruin college sports by making its results routine and predictable. On the other hand, there are some proponents of paying college athletes who believe that fears of a deepened class divide can be alleviated by pay caps and restrictions that come with a collectively bargained agreement between the colleges and the student-athletes. There are also some who believe that deep divide between the haves and the have-nots is part of what makes it so entertaining; if all teams were of equal caliber, the upsets that create so much of the