''Robertson v. National Basketball Association'', 556 F.2d 682 (2d Cir. 1977), was an

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

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 played ...

against the

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

(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 The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(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

Judgment

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 Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

. 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 or manager 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 a contract at present ...

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

Notes

External links

*
''New York Times'' article
{{National Basketball Association 1977 in United States case law American Basketball Association NBA controversies Sports case law United States antitrust case law United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit cases

Facts

Judgment

Significance

See also

Notes

External links