Sonny Vaccaro Vs the NCAA Continues

For decades the NCAA has been a thorn in Sonny Vaccaro's side. As a shoe company representative, Vaccaro spent most of his time trying to gain influence with college coaches and high school players. Vaccaro would sign college coaches to contracts to represent whichever shoe company he was working for and he ran summer camps and all-star games for elite high school basketball players. Every year the NCAA would create rules to try and stop him. But Vaccaro always found a way around the rules, which infuriated the NCAA.

A few years ago it appeared to come to a stop as Vaccaro retired and shut now his famous ABCD basketball camp. But it was only the calm before the storm. Vaccaro is now taking on the NCAA with a fury. He travels the country speaking on college campuses about the evils of the NCAA. He is lobbying Congress to have them take a look at the NCAA's tax exempt status, and now it has been disclosed that he is behind a serious law suit filled against the NCAA.

The class action anti-trust lawsuit filed on behalf of former college basketball and football players against the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Company seeks compensation for the misuse of players images and likeness. The only name on the suit at present is Ed O'Bannon, a standout basketball player at UCLA in the 1990's. There are expectations that the suit will expand to included hundreds of former Division One athletes. O'Bannon, according to an article in the NY Times, said he was approached about becoming the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit about a month ago by Vaccaro and his wife and business partner, Pam.

The NCAA wasted little time in firing back, sending out a memo warning coaches that there might be repercussions if they attended an $800 a plate banquet honoring Vaccaro and raising money for Grass Roots Basketball of America. It seems the NCAA has some questions about how the proceeds are going to be used and advised coaches to "proceed with caution." Many coaches have canceled.

The war, it seems, is not over.