Supreme Court rules for student-athletes in battle over NCAA limits on certain benefits

Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday said the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) cannot strictly limit certain benefits for student-athletes as a means of protecting their amateur status, delivering a blow to the behemoth organization as it battles efforts to allow collegiate athletes to receive some financial compensation.

The high court ruled unanimously in favor of the student-athletes, with Justice Neil Gorsuch delivering the opinion. The ruling is the most significant involving antitrust laws and the athletic association to come from the Supreme Court in decades. Led by former University of West Virginia running back Shawne Alston, the dispute before the court centered around the NCAA's rules restricting certain academic-related benefits for student-athletes, such as post-graduate scholarships, internships, computers and science equipment. A separate battle is playing out in state legislatures and on Capitol Hill over whether athletes can be compensated for use of their name, image and likeness.