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Report: Mark Emmert to testify at O’Bannon trial on Thursday

emmert

NCAA president Mark Emmert is scheduled to testify in the O’Bannon v. NCAA trial on Thursday, according to a report from USA Today.

His appearance will not take the form of a typical cross-examination, however. As explained by the paper:

during a pre-trial conference there was an exchange between [U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken and the NCAA’s lead attorney Glenn Pomerantz in which the ground rules for Emmert’s appearance were made clear.

Pomerantz said, “We would agree that even if I don’t question Dr. Emmert about a certain subject matter when he testifies in our case, that they are free to go beyond the subject matter because that’s their examination in the case.”

Wilken replied, “That goes without saying.”

Pomerantz added, “That’s fair game and we understand that. ... Let us do our full direct (examination) during our case. Let him respond to whatever they might have done in their case.”


Emmert’s appearance on the stand will be one of the seminal moments in a case that is the strongest legal attack against the NCAA’s business model to date. The president of the NCAA will defend, under oath, amateurism and the organization’s ability to cap the compensation that collegiate athletes are allowed to receive at a scholarship.

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