/asmagazine/ en /asmagazine/2024/08/26/does-player-video-game-look-familiar <span>Does that player in the video game look familiar?</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-08-26T17:31:50-06:00" title="Monday, August 26, 2024 - 17:31">Mon, 08/26/2024 - 17:31</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/college_football_25.jpg?h=efc5709a&amp;itok=rOI9KbdX" width="1200" height="800" alt="Cover of EA Sports College Football 25 video game"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/889"> Views </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/913" hreflang="en">Critical Sports Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1240" hreflang="en">Division of Social Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/484" hreflang="en">Ethnic Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1108" hreflang="en">student athletes</a> </div> <span>Jared Bahir Browsh</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em>Fifteen years after Ed O’Bannon’s groundbreaking lawsuit, college athletes continue to benefit from greater control of their name, image and likeness</em></p><hr><p>As an elder Millennial, I remember waiting each year for the announcement of the cover athlete for EA Sports’ collection of college sports video games. As<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/national-spotlight-shines-colorado-ea-sports-college-football-25-video-game-release/" rel="nofollow"> CU celebrates Travis Hunter’s</a> inclusion on this year’s cover, it’s a good time to look back at the fight for student-athlete compensation that led to the reintroduction of the NCAA College Football video game series.</p><p>On July 19, thousands of video game players fired up their consoles and, for the first time in 11 years, could build a dynasty as their favorite college football program. However, the lawsuit that led EA Sports and other video game developers to <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39569777/new-ea-sports-college-football-game-details-features-nil-realignment" rel="nofollow">abandon development of college sports video games</a> to avoid further lawsuits helped college athletes gain control of their name, image and likeness (NIL) and further compensation, altering the financial power structure in college sports.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/jared_browsh_3.jpg?itok=5gCRH_XV" width="750" height="1093" alt="Jared Bahir Browsh"> </div> <p><a href="/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh" rel="nofollow">Jared Bahir Browsh</a> is an assistant teaching professor and director of the <a href="/ethnicstudies/undergraduate-programs-and-resources/critical-sport-studies" rel="nofollow">Critical Sports Studies</a> Program in the <a href="/ethnicstudies/" rel="nofollow">Department of Ethnic Studies</a>.</p></div></div></div><p>In 2009, Ed, O’Bannon—a former UCLA standout named Most Outstanding Player in the 1995 NCAA basketball tournament, which UCLA won—was playing EA Sports’ <em>NCAA Basketball 09 </em>when <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obannon-v-ncaa-case-challenges-business-model-college-sports-n126241" rel="nofollow">he noticed a starting forward on the team</a> had his same attributes, looks and number, even though he was not named in the game. It was common for sports video games to mirror classic teams—including, in this instance, the 1995 UCLA Bruins.</p><p>Sonny Vaccaro, a legendary basketball marketer, <a href="https://www.on3.com/nil/news/sonny-vaccaro-nil-legacy-movie-air-ed-obannon-case/" rel="nofollow">convinced O’Bannon to file a lawsui</a>t alongside 19 other former college basketball players, including athlete labor and civil rights advocates Oscar Robertson and Bill Russell. In 1970, Robertson, then-president of the NBA players’ association, filed an antitrust suit against the NBA to bring free agency to the NBA, while Russell led a boycott during a 1961 preseason game after several teammates were <a href="https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2022/08/02/bill-russell-boston-celtics-basketball-alastair-moock" rel="nofollow">denied service in segregated Lexington, Kentucky</a>. Both Hall of Famers were part of the boycott of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1964/01/15/archives/nba-players-threaten-strike-in-dispute-over-pension-plan.html" rel="nofollow">1964 NBA All-Star Game</a> that led to the NBA recognizing the player’s union.</p><p>Along with signing Michael Jordan to Nike, and being played by Matt Damon in the film <em>Air</em>, Vaccaro has long been an advocate for amateur athletes. O’Bannon was an ideal lead plaintiff given that the image in the game was undeniably him, not only matching his height, weight, shaved head and skin tone, but also his left-handedness. O’Bannon was no longer in basketball, so he didn’t risk the retribution that <a href="https://athletesquarterly.com/athletes/oscar-robertson/" rel="nofollow">Robertson and</a> Curt Flood, <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/curt-flood/" rel="nofollow">the legendary baseball player who challenged the Reserve clause</a> and helped bring free agency to professional sports, both faced.</p><p>The case went to trial in June 2014, and on Aug. 8, Judge Claudia Ann Wilken of the Northern District of California ruled that withholding compensation to student athletes was a violation of antitrust laws. She cited <a href="https://theconversation.com/40-years-ago-the-supreme-court-broke-the-ncaas-lock-on-tv-revenue-reshaping-college-sports-to-this-day-222672" rel="nofollow">NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma</a>, which ended the NCAA’s exclusive control of college football television rights 30 years earlier. Immediately before the trial, <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/11010455/college-athletes-reach-40-million-settlement-ea-sports-ncaa-licensing-arm" rel="nofollow">EA Sports and the Collegiate Licensing Company settled for