Two weeks after the NFL agreed to settle its concussion lawsuit for $765 Million, all eyes have turned to the NCAA and whether it will now settle Arrington v. National Collegiate Athletic Association – the most notable concussion litigation involving the college ranks.
In many ways, the Arrington lawsuit (which is currently in mediation) will be challenging to settle. One reason for this is because the NCAA is composed of 1200 members rather than just 32 — a factor complicates achieving association-wide consensus on a settlement.
Nevertheless, settlement of the NCAA concussion lawsuit seems to be in college sports’ best financial and public relations interests. At the same time, the NCAA may be interested in settling the case given its recent agreement to mediation.
From a legal perspective, a number of factors seem to make the NCAA’s risk exposure, if it does not settle, far greater than that of the NFL. For example, the NCAA may owe a greater “duty of care” to its athletes because it purports to exist for the very purpose “to protect young people from the dangerous and exploitive (sic) athletic practices of the time.” By contrast, the NFL has generally held itself out as nothing more than a collection of profitmaking businesses.
(Click for Full Article on Forbes.com)
By Marc Edelman
September 12, 2013
