Electronic Arts Inc.’s chief legal officer took the stand Wednesday in Oakland federal court, testifying his company’s video game production was stunted by NCAA restrictions on the use of college athletes’ names and likenesses.
Joel Linzner, EA’s executive vice president of business and legal affairs, said his company tried for years to develop college sports games featuring specific football and men’s basketball players but ran up against the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s blanket prohibition on players licensing and earning money off their names and likenesses. NCAA executives told Linzner athletes who appeared in EA games would be at risk of losing their eligibility to play, he said.
