NCAA seeks to have Reggie Bush's NIL lawsuit dismissed
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has taken legal steps toward dismissing the lawsuit filed by Reggie Bush for name, image and likeness compensation.
Lawyers for the NCAA filed court papers Thursday, seeking to have all claims dismissed against them saying Bush took nearly 20 years to file his claims, and he can no longer recover damages.
Bush originally filed his suit on Sept. 23 claiming USC, the Pac-12 and the NCAA profited significantly from his name, image and likeness when he was an athlete at USC. The Los Angeles Superior Court complaint detailed that the NCAA, USC, and the Pac-12 benefitted from merchandise sales, television contracts and media rights because of his football career. Bush claims he was not compensated because of NCAA regulations at the time.
"Any such claims accrued no later than 2005, meaning that his suit comes at least a decade and a half too late," NCAA lawyers said in their pleadings. "And while (Bush) gestures at several exceptions to the statutes of limitations, he offers no well-pleaded allegations showing a plausible entitlement to any of them."
Even if Bush's claims were not time-barred, the details in the case are sparse in support of his allegations, the NCAA lawyers said.
Bush has been part of a certified class in another case that litigated similar claims. The NCAA said because of this it makes it inexcusable for him to have waited more than a decade to bring a similar claim again.
"And while Bush received the accolades, defendants NCAA, USC, and the Pac-12 Conference received all the money. Millions upon millions of dollars of money, all derived directly from Reggie Bush's name, image and likeness. To this day, all defendants continue to profit from Reggie Bush's name, image, and likeness without compensating Bush one penny," Bush's September suit said.
Bush is also pursuing a defamation lawsuit against the NCAA that was filed in August 2023 for comments that he has been involved in a "pay-for-play" situation.
"On July 28, 2021, the NCAA, by and through its authorized spokesperson, falsely told reporters that because of Mr. Bush's prior involvement in a 'pay–for–play arrangement,' the NCAA would not consider restoring his collegiate records that it vacated in 2010," the defamation suit said.
It continued to say Bush's reputation in his field had been "substantially and irreparably damaged."
While Bush was at USC from 2003 to 2005, he helped lead the Trojans to two national championships. In 2010, Bush's Heisman trophy was stripped from him after an NCAA investigation concluded he received impermissible benefits as a student.
In April 2024, the Heisman Trust announced it was reinstating his trophy after "enormous changes in the college football landscape," now that players are allowed to receive payment from endorsement deals for the use of their name, image and likeness.
