Recent Development by J.M. Schwartz
Jerry Tarkanian, once described as “the ‘winningest’ active basketball coach,” was suspended from his position as head basketball coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in September of 1977. UNLV suspended Tarkanian after a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) investigation found that UNLV and Tarkanian had committed thirty-eight NCAA rules violations in conducting the UNLV basketball program. The suspension was in response to a recommendation by the NCAA Committee on Infractions that UNLV's basketball program be placed on two-year probation and that UNLV show cause why further sanctions should not be imposed against UNLV should it fail to sever ties to Tarkanian during the probation period. In an amended complaint, Tarkanian brought suit against both UNLV and the NCAA under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that he had been denied his property and liberty rights without due process of law in violation of the fourteenth amendment. Despite the NCAA's insistence that it could not be liable under section 1983 because it had not acted under color of state law, the trial court granted injunctive relief and awarded attorney's fees to Tarkanian as costs under section 1983. Although the NCAA appealed the decision, UNLV did not. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Nevada affirmed the lower court's determination that the NCAA was a state actor in this instance and thus liable for section 1983 damages. The United States Supreme Court reversed and held that the nexus between UNLV and the NCAA was insufficient to turn the NCAA's conduct into state action. National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Tarkanian, 109 S.Ct. 454 (1988).
About the Author
J.M. Schwartz.
Citation
63 Tul. L. Rev. 1703 (1989)