On most days, you’ll find Ed O’Bannon selling Corollas at Findlay Toyota in Henderson. What he probably won’t mention in his pitch is that he’s also selling books. The former power forward, who led UCLA to its 11th title during the 1995 NCAA Tournament before playing two seasons in the NBA, recently wrote and published "Court Justice: The Inside Story of My Battle Against the NCAA" ($26, diversionbooks.com/books/court-justice).
It begins with seeing his unapproved likeness in a college basketball-themed video game, continues through an antitrust lawsuit that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and ends with his ambitious, 12-point plan to change college sports for the benefit of its players. The Sun spoke to O’Bannon on the Findlay showroom floor to discuss his new book, his role as an activist for fairness in collegiate sports and March Madness.
Up until last year, it had been pretty rare to see an athlete become an activist. Why do you think that is?
You’re conditioned as an athlete to keep your head down, do your work, listen to your coach, listen to your parents or guardian, do your schoolwork — and keep your head down even more. You know that one lady who said, “Shut up and dribble”? You always subliminally hear those messages when you’re an athlete.
There are things that come with speaking out or taking a stance and when you’re on a team or play a team-oriented sport — everyone tends to be affected by it. And [as a player], the only thing I want you to say about me is how I’m playing, and the contributions I make on our playing field.
So it’s easier to get involved with an issue like yours once you’re no longer playing.
I don’t have to answer to a coach or an athletic director or a principal. The only person I answer to is the owner of [Findlay Toyota], and he’s all for my stance.
You’ve said your fight against the NCAA was influenced in part by campus activism you witnessed as a student at UCLA. Do you remember what you felt at the time you saw that happening, and how it eventually inspired you to act upon your frustrations with the NCAA?
I remember walking to class, seeing these tents on the side … and then I found out they were boycotting and on a hunger strike. I was like, what?! How do you think of something like that? It’s like, I’m so mad at you, I won’t even eat until you change your ways — or I will die. To be committed like that, that always stuck with me. When given this opportunity, I said to myself, I’m not going to starve myself, but I will say something. This is my opportunity to be a part of something bigger than me.
Was there any point after you saw your friend’s son playing your likeness in a video game and before lawyer Sonny Vaccaro suggested a possible lawsuit that you realized you had to do something?
There wasn’t one. I’d be lying to you if I conjured up one. I did tell my wife about it. I was fired up; I was like, I’m gonna get that video game! For me, it was par for the course. It ain’t the first time this has happened, I’m sure it won’t be the last. It’s just the way the system works.
As the process went along, did you ever think, am I getting in too deep? Is this worth it given that I’m likely never going to personally benefit from a potential victory?
There were times during the whole thing when I said, what am I doing? No one cares and I’m getting (crapped) on every time I turn on my TV or computer. And then there were other times where I’d wake up and I was like, this is my opportunity to talk about what we’ve been doing. There would always be a little bit of light that showed me someone cared.
How does having the U.S. Supreme Court read your name aloud compare to winning an NCAA championship or playing for the NBA?
That is huge in my book. I’m honored. Look, playing in a tournament and being on the team that won the whole thing and playing in the NBA — all of those were goals and lifelong dreams of mine. But it was also a lifelong dream of mine to be successful in something outside of basketball, and do something that had some type of meaning that solidified myself. If my [UCLA] teammates were here right now, I’d tell them this is bigger than our championship. And I say that respectfully ... it just means more to my soul.
What was your experience writing your first book?
The experience was great. It was a liberating feeling, and it was therapeutic. My co-writer, Michael McCann, a super-brilliant dude, was great to talk with. He seemed to ask all the right questions and knew how to talk to me and get certain things out of me. I’d just go out to my car in the parking lot here and would spend five to six hours a time, three days a week for about four months, and [talk].
You nearly chose UNLV over UCLA before you committed. Now that you’re a Las Vegas resident, do you feel any connection to the school?
I know at one time it was stronger. [Findlay Toyota] general manager and co-owner Rich Abajian was a huge booster and UNLV guy. Through him, I’d spend a lot of time there. But since he passed [in 2016], it’s gone to the wayside.
Did you give your nephew (and former Bishop Gorman basketball player) Charles O’Bannon Jr. any grief for picking USC over both UCLA and UNLV?
(Laughs) You know what? I didn’t. Not at all. But his dad did. He’s still on [Charles Jr.] for it. But I love it. I love that he has a mind of his own and his own path and vision.
You’ve said you didn’t previously discuss this stuff with Charles Jr., but now with this book out, has he since said anything about it to you?
Never. And I don’t blame him. I’ve always felt the teacher will appear when the pupil is ready to learn. My kids are definitely like that. I’ve always kept this part of my life away from them. They didn’t ask to be a part of this lawsuit. I told them, anytime they are ready to learn about it or be involved, talk to me. And my kids ask me questions all the time about it now.
Do you get caught up in the excitement of March Madness anymore, given your court case and feelings about the NCAA?
I still get worked up about it. These [salesmen] out here, when we’re out on the line, that’s mostly what we talk about. … I love the sport. There’s a certain satisfaction I get watching these young adults live out their dreams right in front of us. I was in those shoes. I also see it from a completely different lens now. I can separate the competitive part from the business portion of it.
Who do you like in the tournament?
I like Villanova, I like Virginia. Those are the sexy ones. I like Arizona. They’re fourth and I think they should be higher. I like Texas Tech. I saw them earlier this year. I think Oklahoma is due. Trey Young is so good, he can carry a team … He has the weight of the world on his shoulders and he knows it. If he can shake that, they can win.
You’re keeping this conversation alive with the book. What is your hope for both it and any potential change in the NCAA?
Since Day One, my goal has been to shed some light on how the NCAA does business. Now that that has happened … if and when they reevaluate some of the rules the NCAA has in place, hopefully [the NCAA] will look at this book and say, “We like a few of the ideas from that one cat and his book. Maybe we can open it up and explore them while we revamp those rules.” In a perfect world, that will happen.
Ultimately, this book gives this lawsuit a pulse and a face. There’s a human involved here, and a family — multiple families. That’s really what I wanted to do with this book.
What do you think it takes for the NCAA to enact change?
Unfortunately, I think it takes the current athletes to take action. Either they boycott — and I don’t suggest they do, but for them to get change, they’ll have to — or someone files some type of lawsuit, which there have been since we finished ours. There’s Jenkins v. NCAA. One of those two things has to happen. The NCAA has to be backed into a corner to change.
Is there anything else you want to initiate or accomplish now that the book is done?
For me, this is it. I wrote the book to also put a period on all of this for me. Our lawsuit died at the footsteps of the Supreme Court. What’s next? Spreading the word any way I can on this social injustice. If it takes doing radio and TV for the rest of my life, hell, I’ll do that too.
It’s time for someone else to bring this to a new level. I saw David Robinson … on [ESPN’s] "First Take" this morning, talking about this very subject. I love that. Here’s an NBA Hall of Famer, a Top 50 [player], a Dream Teamer talking about college athletes getting paid and controlling their likeness. Maybe he can take the baton and run with it. He’s got a lot more clout in this game than I do. I’m not saying he should. But it’s nice to recognize or see that other people are feeling a little more comfortable talking about it now. And that’s all I’ve wanted from the beginning.
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