Court Justice

All's fair in love and football. Like Curt Flood and Oscar Robertson, who paved the way for free agency in sports, Ed OBannon decided there was a principle at stake OBannon gave the movement to reform college sportspassion and purpose, animated by righteous indignation. Jeremy Schaap, ESPN journalist and New York Times bestselling author In 2009, Ed OBannon, once a star for the 1995 NCAA Champion UCLA Bruins and a first-round NBA draft pick, thought hed made peace with the NCAAs exploitive system of amateurism. College athletes generated huge profits, yettraining nearly full-time, forced to tailor coursework around sports, often pawns in corrupt investigationsthey saw little from those riches other than revocable scholarships and miniscule chances of going pro. Still, that was all in OBannons pastuntil he saw the video game NCAA Basketball 09. As avatars of their college selvestheir likenesses, achievements, and playing stylesOBannon and his teammates were still making money for the NCAA. So, when asked to fight the system for players past, present, and futureand seeking no personal financial reward, but rather the chance to make college sports more fairhe agreed to be the face of what became a landmark class-action lawsuit. Court Justice brings readers to the front lines of a critical battle in the long fight for players rights while also offering OBannons unique perspective on todays NCAA recruiting scandals. From the basketball court to the court of law facing NCAA executives, athletic directors, and expert witnesses; and finally to his innovative ideas for reform, OBannon breaks down historys most important victory yet against the inequitable model of multi-billion-dollar amateur sports.