Court sympathetic to college athletes

The Supreme Court on March 31 seemed sympathetic to college athletes in a dispute with the NCAA over rules limiting their education-related compensation.

With the March Madness basketball tournament in its final stages, the high court heard arguments in a case about how colleges can reward athletes who play Division I basketball and football.

Under current NCAA rules, students cannot be paid, and the scholarship money colleges can offer is capped at the cost of attending the school. The NCAA defends its rules as necessary to preserve the amateur nature of college sports.

But the former athletes who brought the case, including former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston, say the NCAA’s rules are unfair and violate federal antitrust law designed to promote competition.

The case is not about whether students can be paid salaries. Instead, the outcome will help determine whether schools can offer athletes tens of thousands of dollars in education benefits for things such as computers, graduate scholarships, tutoring, study abroad and internships.

During an hour and a half of arguments conducted by phone because of the coronavirus pandemic, there were both liberal and conservative justices who sounded supportive to the athletes’ case.

College football LAKE ERIE POSTPONED »

The Lake Erie-Walsh football game scheduled for April 3 has been postponed because of COVID-19 protocols.

MLB

JERSEY SALES » Mike Trout, the consensus best player in baseball, ranked 10th on the list of top-selling jerseys released by Major League Baseball, behind even Red Sox utility player Kiké Hernández. Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts retained the top spot, with teammate Cody Bellinger second.

UMPIRE LOSES SUIT » Umpire Ángel Hernández lost his lawsuit against Major League Baseball alleging racial discrimination.