The NCAA, Pac-12 Conference and USC are seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by former Trojans star running back Reggie Bush on the grounds that his claims of antitrust violations and lost name, image and likeness compensation from his Heisman-winning tenure at USC come “at least a decade and a half too late.”
Bush filed the lawsuit in September, alleging that his school, its former conference and the sport’s governing body had all “profited from uncompensated use” of his NIL during and after his dazzling tenure at USC “without compensating Bush one penny.” In a news release announcing the lawsuit, Bush’s attorneys claimed he should be paid “to address and rectify ongoing injustices stemming from the exploitation of Reggie Bush’s name, image and likeness during his tenure as a USC football player.”
But in filings this week with the Los Angeles Superior Court, attorneys for the NCAA, Pac-12 and USC set out to dismantle those claims, arguing that Bush’s “effort to wind back the clock” should be barred by the statute of limitations, which is typically four years in antitrust cases. Bush last played at USC in 2005.
“Any such claims accrued no later than 2005, meaning that his suit comes at least a decade and a half too late,” the NCAA’s attorneys wrote. “And while [Bush] gestures at several exceptions to the statutes of limitations [in his lawsuit], he offers no well-pleaded allegations showing a plausible entitlement to any of them.”
The NCAA’s attorneys argue that not only was Bush’s lawsuit filed too late, but that it’s also “legally insufficient” with “few facts at all beyond a summary of [Bush’s] playing career.”
“Such a bare-bones complaint does not suffice under California law,” the attorneys wrote.
Additionally, they claim Bush is bound by previously litigated claims against the NCAA regarding access to NIL and his place as member of a certified class in past lawsuits, including O’Bannon vs. NCAA, “makes it inexcusable for him to have waited over a decade more to bring a similar claim yet again.”
Bush’s legal team has not yet responded to the dismissal request.
In suing the NCAA, Bush’s attorneys said he hoped to “pave the way for a system where athletes are rightfully recognized, compensated and treated fairly for their contributions.”
Read more: Reggie Bush’s attorney says the Heisman winner expects USC to pay his legal fees
During his three seasons at USC, no college athlete in America was more recognizable than Bush, whose electric ability helped lead the Trojans to a national title in 2004 and earned him the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football in 2005.
But in 2010, long after Bush had left for the NFL, the NCAA found that Bush and his family had accepted improper benefits during his college tenure and imposed harsh sanctions on USC, including a total disassociation from Bush, whose name and image was scrubbed completely from the school and its record books. Bush was also forced to relinquish his Heisman Trophy, as the Heisman Trust refused for over a decade to acknowledge him as one of its winners.
That changed earlier this year after a lengthy campaign from Bush and his attorneys, as the Heisman Trust reversed course on its long-standing decision. The trophy was returned in April to Bush, who immediately turned his ire to the NCAA. He vowed to fight until his records from 2004 and 2005 were reinstated, along with USC’s wins during its 2004 championship season.
“This is just the beginning of the journey to getting full justice,” one of Bush’s attorneys, Ben Crump, said at the time.
Read more: Heisman Trust: Reggie Bush can get trophy back if reinstated by NCAA
Bush’s legal team sought USC’s help in that fight this past fall. They asked that the school “get behind” Bush’s efforts to get his records reinstated and also reimburse Bush for his attorneys fees.
A few weeks later, Bush filed his lawsuit, naming the school as one of its defendants. The school found out via the news release from Bush’s legal team.
“Reggie Bush received all the accolades a college football athlete could receive during his three years playing football at USC,” the lawsuit stated. “And while Bush received the accolades, Defendants NCAA, USC, and the Pac-12 Conference received all the money.”
How much Bush is asking for in restitution from the three defendants is still unclear. In an interview with The Times, one of Bush’s attorneys said experts told him USC made “hundreds of millions” off of Bush during his tenure as a Trojan. But the topic of back NIL pay had never been broached with USC before the lawsuit was filed. And the complaint itself is largely devoid of specifics as it relates to revenue or NIL estimates.
As part of the lawsuit, Bush’s legal team did request a trove of documents, according to court filings, including revenue figures from jersey sales, video games sales and TV deals, as well as any communication between the NCAA, USC, Pete Carroll or the Heisman Trust. Attorneys for the defendants dismissed the request for documents as “needlessly burdensome.”
The legal teams on both sides of Bush’s lawsuit met last week via video conference to discuss the complaint and hash out their differences. But no agreement could be reached, according to court filings.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
