Andrew Oliver Scores Another Victory in Oliver v. NCAA

Back in February, an Ohio state court ruled in favor of Oklahoma State University star pitcher Andrew Oliver in his lawsuit against the NCAA (a decision that the NCAA will undoubtedly appeal once the trial is complete). Oliver had been suspended by OSU after news emerged that, years earlier, he had met with Minnesota Twins representatives with his attorneys while contemplating whether to retain his amateur status and attend college or turn pro after high school. Oliver contends the rule which prohibited that meeting interfered with his attorney-client relationship and was against public policy (For more background see Alan Milstein's post and posts by others, including one on the NCAA Compliance Blog and those with competing viewpoints from Rick Karcher and Tassos Kaburakis).

Yesterday, the same Ohio state court issued a ruling finding that there is probable cause that the NCAA is in indirect civil and criminal contempt of both a temporary restraining order, which had been issued last August, and the court's order in February. The NCAA has seven days to show why it should not be held in contempt.

The court has requested a variety of documents relating to NCAA communications with Oliver and other impacted parties. For more, including the court's discussion over the kinds of information that should be redacted, see this link.

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