Vanderbilt football players among NCAA class-action lawsuit challenging redshirt rule
Current Vanderbilt football players Langston Patterson and Yilanan Ouattara and former players Quincy Skinner and CJ Taylor are part of a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA challenging the redshirt rule and arguing that all players should get five years of eligibility.
Patterson, Ouattara, Skinner and Taylor are among a group of current and former football, baseball and tennis players that are part of the lawsuit. The plaintiffs comprise a group of players from different schools in different areas of the country.
According to court filings provided to The Tennessean, the plaintiffs are not challenging the idea of eligibility restrictions or asking for unlimited eligibility, however, they believe that allowing a certain group of players (those who have redshirted) five years to play while others get only four violates antitrust law. The case argues that athletes who play as freshmen are forced to forfeit an entire extra year of NIL and revenue-sharing earnings that is afforded to players who take a redshirt.
The attorney representing the players, Ryan Downton, represented Diego Pavia in his case against the NCAA.
The court filing argues that the redshirt rule "punishes college athletes who are higher achievingearlier in their career, and rewards college athletes who, for example, do not earn enough playingtime and choose to redshirt, and are able to maximize their eligibility and commercial opportunitiesfor a fifth season in a way that college athletes who excel cannot."
Currently, NCAA athletes are given five seasons to play four years of competition. In all sports except football, a player cannot be granted a redshirt while playing in any games unless they suffered a season-ending injury early in the season. In football, a player can redshirt and still play in up to nine games, four in the regular season and any postseason games in which their team participates.
While the NCAA has reportedly considered at times giving all athletes five years of eligibility with no redshirts, the NCAA's lawyer in Pavia's case argued that it was not something that was under active discussion or imminent.
The case was filed in the United States District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division. That same court heard Pavia's case and granted him an injunction for an extra year of eligibility due to his junior college seasons, but they did not grant an injunction to Chris Bellamy and three others seeking extra eligibility this summer.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson .
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football players challenge NCAA redshirt rule in lawsuit
