Kate Roggio Buck speaks with Law360 to discuss US District Judge Claudia Wilken’s decision to withhold approval on the House settlement, which would give athletes a share of revenue for the use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Kate said it was no surprise to her that the settlement was sent back for revisions, but found it interesting that, after spending so much time hammering out a deal of this magnitude, problems with such a profound effect on athletes were still unresolved. “The judge said at one point, near the end, ‘These are fixable issues, if you wanted to fix them, they could be fixed,’ something to that effect. I think that’s really the key — if the NCAA wanted to fix these issues, they could. They’re not obligated to; they are pushing for the settlement that they feel is appropriate for their organization, but they are fixable issues.” Kate said
She continued, “Not all the processes have to be figured out in advance, but in a situation with so many individuals’ interests and issues and so many uncertainties, I just don’t think they had enough of the details worked out,” and added, “As much as I said and believe there will be some modifications,” Kate said, “I think materially they will come back with essentially the same terms. It makes me think of that saying, ‘If someone shows you who they are, believe them.’ The NCAA is what it is, and that’s what I believe they will continue to be.”