''Robertson v. National Basketball Association'', 556

F.2d The ''Federal Reporter'' () is a case law reporter in the United States that is published by West Publishing and a part of the National Reporter System. It begins with cases decided in 1880; pre-1880 cases were later retroactively compiled by W ...

682 (2d Cir. 1977), was an antitrust lawsuit filed by American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson playe ...

against the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). Filed in 1970, the lawsuit was settled in 1976 and resulted in the free agency rules now used in the NBA.

Facts

Robertson sought through his lawsuit to block any merger of the NBA with the American Basketball Association (ABA), to end the option clause that bound a player to a single NBA team in perpetuity, to end the NBA's college draft binding a player to one team, and to end restrictions on free-agent signings. The suit also sought damages for NBA players for past harm caused by the option clause. Robertson's lawsuit prevented the planned 1970 merger of the

with the American Basketball Association.

Judgement

The court issued an injunction against any merger. The ABA-NBA merger was thus delayed until 1976.

Significance

In 1972,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

came close to enacting legislation to enable a merger but the measure was not passed. As a result, the two leagues did not merge until 1976. Although he wasn't playing anymore, Robertson was not out of sight. As president of the NBA players union, Robertson's 1970 suit against the NBA contended the draft, option clause and other rules restricting player movement were violations of antitrust laws. The suit was settled in 1976, when the league agreed to let players become

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

s in exchange for their old team's "right of first refusal" to match any offer they might receive.

Notes

External links

* {{caselaw source , case = ''Robertson v. National Basketball Association'', 556 F.2d 682 (2d Cir. 1977) , courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/346584/oscar-robertson-william-bradley-joe-caldwell-archie-clark-mel-counts/ , googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15206274053528022829 , justia =https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/556/682/69049/
''New York Times'' article
1977 in United States case law American Basketball Association Lawsuits National Basketball Association controversies Sports case law United States antitrust case law United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit cases

Facts

Judgement

Significance

See also

Notes

External links