Members of NC State’s 1983 “Cardiac Pack” national championship basketball team won’t receive money for continued replays of their NCAA Tournament victories after a North Carolina judge dismissed their case against collegiate athletics’ governing body.
A lawyer for the former NC State players told WRAL on Wednesday night that the case was dismissed. The NCAA asked the court to dismiss the case, citing the dismissal of a federal case brought by a former Kansas men’s basketball player who used similar arguments.
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A 44-page order from Superior Court Judge Mark A. Davis, who held a lengthy hearing in May in Raleigh, was released Thursday morning.
“In this lawsuit, twelve former members of North Carolina State University's ("N.C. State") 1983 NCAA men's basketball championship team have sued the NCAA for using without permission their names, images, and likenesses contained in copyrighted game footage from that season,” Davis wrote. “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.”
Former NC State players Thurl Bailey, Alvin Battle, Walt Densmore, Tommy DiNardo, Terry Gannon, George McClain, Cozell McQueen, Walter Proctor, Harold Thompson and Mike Warren brought the lawsuit last year.
“This case has always been about standing up for young athletes and shining a spotlight on the NCAA’s abusive practices and continued profiteering off its historical wrongs,” said Raleigh-based lawyer Stacy Miller, who represented the former NC State players.
A lawyer for the NCAA didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday night.
“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,” Miller said in a statement to WRAL.
The 1983 NC State team, coached by Jim Valvano, won the NCAA title on a last-second dunk, capping a dramatic run through the tournament. Valvano famously ran around the court looking for someone to hug after the game. It remains one of the iconic moments in tournament history, if not all of college sports.
The NC State players argued that the NCAA’s use of highlights to promote each year’s men’s basketball tournament and the rebroadcasting of the title game on its website with advertisements restarted the clock on any statute of limitations argument.
Some of the team’s best and most famous players didn’t join the lawsuit, including Dereck Whittenburg, Sidney Lowe, Ernie Myers and the estate of Lorenzo Charles. Whittenburg and Charles were the main players in the final play of the title game.
Before 2021, the NCAA didn’t allow players to profit off their name, image and likeness. The organization changed its rules in 2021 on NIL and, as of July, now allows schools to share revenue directly with players.
The players were seeking damages for the last four years, not dating back to 1983 or 1984.
“Despite the fact that the NCAA stole these players’ rights when they were kids and continues to profit off those stolen rights today, the victims have no justice and no remedy,” Miller said in a statement to WRAL. “Even if the ruling withstands appeal, this case is an important step in furthering the cause of justice for young athletes by showing the NCAA that it will be challenged legally and publicly when it violates the law.”
The case originally named the Collegiate Licensing Company and CBS as co-defendants, along with the NCAA, but CLC and CBS were later removed from the case.