Ed O'Bannon plaintiffs to depose Jim Delany

The Big Ten commissioner might have to deal with the unpleasant reality of the Ed O'Bannon case sooner than he likes.

By Avinash Kunnath@avinashkunnath May 9, 2013, 7:31pm EDT

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Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany might have to testify in the Ed O'Bannon case, as Judge Nathanael Cousins made the decision to allow the plaintiffs to depose him as part of an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA, Steve Berkowitz of USA Today Sports reports. Thanks to Cousins' ruling, Delany, Horizon League commissioner Jon LeCrone, Fresno State president John Welty and NCAA executive vice president Mark Lewis all can now be deposed.

Delany once commented that should the NCAA lose the case, he would consider moving the Big Ten to Division III to avoid paying players. Delany backed away from those comments later, saying he would prefer the NCAA would increase scholarships to cover education, but still would like to avoid paying players in specific sports.

Earlier today, an EA Sports producer admitted under oath that the company used player likenesses in games. The decision to determine whether the case reaches class action status will come on June 20.