The International Swimming League (ISL) and a group of pro swimmers led by Tom Shields and Katinka Hosszu will move forward with a lawsuit against World Aquatics after a U.S. appeals court ruling on Tuesday.
The long-running antitrust lawsuits were filed in 2018, with the ISL and the swimmers accusing World Aquatics of restricting their ability to compete.
The lawsuits allege that World Aquatics’ moves to block the 2018 Energy For Swim competition, and threaten athlete suspensions for participating, violated the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, which forbids organizations from engaging in anti-competitive behavior.
The ISL argues that by threatening the sanctions on the athletes, World Aquatics hurt their ability to attract top swimmers.
In January 2023, a lower court ruled in favor of World Aquatics, but the ISL and Shields, Hosszu, and co. filed a joint appeal last June to reverse the ruling.
On Tuesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 3-0 ruling that the groups provided sufficient allegations to let their antitrust cases move forward against World Aquatics.
The swimmers’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler called the 9th Circuit’s decision “an important precedent for all athletes seeking to vindicate their antitrust rights against a sports association,” according to Reuters.
A group of potentially hundreds of elite swimmers said the ISL provided a “meaningful competitive alternative in the labor market for top-tier swimmers,” Reuters reported.
The appeals court said a potential jury could conclude that World Aquatics “can organize swimming competitions and maintain its calendar of events without restricting participation in non-affiliated events.”
The ISL has not been in action since 2021, canceling its 2022 season amidst the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. This past January, the league reportedly resumed making delayed payments to swimmers for its 2021 season, more than two years after the last ISL competition.
The Olympics owns swimming. The Olympic charter is set up to recognize only World Aquatics (FINA) as the rule maker for swimmers at the Olympics and you can only go to the Olympics thru a national governing body that is a member of the IOC, which only recognizes the USOC, which only recognizes USA swimming as the NGB. You can make a league like the ISL as long as you let USA swimming have say in it (how USA swimming now sets almost all rules for the NCAA). Good luck taking on that monster, didn’t work out for Randy Reese.
Not familiar with this story. What did Randy Reese do?
The ISL should be OPEN and have the Qualifying Times (as the World Aquatic has) and admit to its’ events any swimmer who makes QT and want to take part in the event. The previous ISL history shows that while most of its selection of swimmers were justified some were turbid. If the ISL fights for the rights of swimmers to compete those rights should be provided to all members of the swimming community. It may restrict the number of participants in each of its event, but to make the process of selection (invitation) transparent and open.
Before ISL does or claims anything they should finally make the payments to the athletes who still didn’t get ONE dime. All while some others got paid. It’s a shameful practice and they should be ashamed of themselves
Does ISL still have anything remaining person wise? Is this lawyers representing ISL?
Who represents World Aquatics? It’s early, but is there any indication yet whether they will seek cert at the US Supreme Court?
World Aquatics/FINA represented by Chris Yates of Latham & Watkins.
Considering how many of the actual swimmers struggle to get by, it’s pretty grim seeing FINA and the ISL hiring Chris Yates and Jeff Kessler
Were they suppose to hire less skilled/experienced attorneys?