A North Carolina judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit from members of the 1983 North Carolina State men’s national championship team that argued the NCAA illegally denied them name, image and likeness compensation.
Coached by the late Jim Valvano, the 1983 title team remains one of the most memorable Cinderella stories in American sports. The Wolfpack beat Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler’s powerful Houston team 54-52 on a buzzer-beating dunk by Lorenzo Charles in the national championship game. The team was famously dubbed the Cardiac Pack.
Superior Court Judge Mark A. Davis dismissed the lawsuit in a 44-page filing, saying it was filed too late.
“Because their claims are untimely, barred by their failure to allege a violation of a legally enforceable right, and preempted by the federal Copyright Act, dismissal of this action in its entirety is appropriate,” Davis wrote.
Twelve members of the team filed the lawsuit in Wake County, N.C., Superior Court last year, arguing the NCAA has used their historic victory to make millions of dollars promoting March Madness. Star guards Dereck Whittenburg, who is currently an administrator at NC State, and former NBA head coach Sidney Lowe were not part of the lawsuit.
The group included Thurl Bailey, Walt Densmore, Tommy DiNardo, Terry Gannon, George McClain, Cozell McQueen, Walter Proctor, Ernie Myers, Quinton Leonard, Harold Thompson and Mike Warren. They requested a trial by jury and sought “reasonable compensation for the appropriation of” their names, images and likenesses, with the lawsuit pointing out how NIL use continues to generate revenue for the NCAA after athletes leave college.
“We are proud of these Cardiac Pack players who stood up in the national fight for justice against a system that colludes to exploit young and often vulnerable student athletes,” attorney Stacy Miller, who represented the group of players, told WRAL.
Miller did not immediately respond to The Athletic’s request for comment.
Following Davis’ dismissal, the NCAA said it was “pleased” with the decision.
“The court definitively examined and dismissed the claims, not only as untimely, but also finding that there is no enforceable right of publicity in game broadcasts and that federal Copyright law would preempt any such right if there were one,” the NCAA said in a statement to The Athletic. “We are hopeful that several of the copycat cases will be similarly treated by other courts.”
Since the NCAA changed its rules in 2021 to allow college athletes to earn money through sponsorship and endorsement deals, high-profile athletes have routinely earned hundreds of thousands of dollars — even millions — in NIL compensation.
The recent House vs. NCAA settlement will pay $2.8 billion in damages to former and current college athletes who were denied NIL compensation, dating back to 2016. The settlement agreement also cleared the way for schools to begin directly compensating athletes, starting this year.
(Photo of former NC State head coach Jim Valvano: Malcolm Emmons / Imagn Images)
