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LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, often considered one of the most successful beneficiaries of the NIL (name, image, and likeness) era, has submitted a formal objection to the proposed House v. NCAA settlement. On Monday, she appeared over Zoom to present her issues to Northern District of California judge Claudia Wilken during the approval hearing in the case.
Dunne was specifically objecting to the distribution of damage claims. The settlement would offer $2.8 billion in damages to players who couldn’t earn NIL money before the NCAA changed its rules in 2021. But Dunne says female athletes—including her—are getting shortchanged in the portions of damages. She has millions of followers across social media platforms, has signed numerous endorsement deals, and boasts a $4.1 million NIL valuation.
“This settlement doesn’t come close to recognizing the value I lost,” she said. Dunne noted that all the NIL earning projections about her “have underestimated my actual earnings.”
Dunne then went on to say that the website to sign up for the settlement didn’t work when she first started using it. Then, she wasn’t able to see how much she would receive unless she opted in—which she wasn’t sure she wanted to do. She said when she got that number (which she declined to state), it was much less than she was worth and never heard back from the settlement administrator.
Wilken responded by saying that if the settlement is, in fact, approved, “they will at least respond and let you know what the deal is.” Wilken is likely not inclined to consider Dunne’s concern, or gender inequities, in the settlement, however. She has said multiple times, including during Monday’s hearing, that the settlement was a question of antitrust law, not of Title IX or other civil rights laws. Wilken has already made the lawyers include a phrase in the settlement saying that lawsuits could address these issues in the future.
Wilken said she would not rule from the bench Monday—a final decision is expected over the next several weeks.
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