Every now and then a loss can still be a win. On Tuesday, that couldn’t have been more spot on for the states of Tennessee and Virginia in their lawsuits against the NCAA.
Judge Clifton L. Corker issued an order denying the Plaintiff’s motion for a temporary restraining order against the NCAA late Tuesday afternoon. In his 12-page opinion, he discussed the arguments of both parties for why the TRO should be granted or denied.
A significant warning to the NCAA
Judge Corker had to consider a number of factors in determining whether Tennessee/Virginia would be entitled to a TRO. The first factor he evaluated was the likelihood of Tennessee and Virginia to prevail on their claim of a violation by the NCAA of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Judge Corker noted that Tennessee/Virginia’s claim that the NIL-recruiting ban is anticompetitive held water. He then noted that the burden then shifted to the NCAA to show that they have procompetitive justification for their anticompetitive restraint (NIL-recruiting ban), which he held they do through promoting the balance of academics and athletics as well as amateurism.