Overview
Table of Contents
Berger Montague represents a former Canadian Hockey League (CHL) player in an antitrust class action against the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and ten of its member institutions. The class action alleges that the NCAA has illegally agreed to prohibit current and former Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players from playing NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey.
In the complaint, the plaintiff—a former CHL player—alleges that the defendants’ agreement violates federal antitrust laws and has caused current and former CHL players to suffer substantial harm, including from (i) losing out on valuable athletic scholarships from NCAA Division I schools, and (ii) receiving artificially low compensation from CHL teams.
The plaintiff seeks an order prohibiting the NCAA and its member institutions from continuing to prevent current and former CHL players from playing NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey. In addition, the plaintiff seeks damages for himself, and for other current and former CHL players, to compensate them for all harm caused by the defendants’ conduct, including the alleged substantial harm.
The CHL can draft players as early as age 14, while the NHL amateur draft’s minimum age is 18. Masterson says in his suit that he was 16 when he joined Windsor as an undrafted free agent and played the two preseason games. Masterson, now 19, has played for Fort Erie, Ontario, in the B-level Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League since 2021, and has not played in a CHL game since those preseason contests.
The named defendants are the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Canisius University, Niagara University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Boston College, Boston University, University of Denver, Quinnipiac University, University of Notre Dame du Lac, Stonehill College, and University of St. Thomas.
Read more about this case:
https://www.courthousenews.com/hockey-antitrust-suit-against-ncaa-could-start-snowball-experts-say
