Retired NFL Players Seek To Join EA Lawsuit

PAUL ELIAS

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two retired NFL players on Monday asked a judge to let them formally support a former college quarterback's legal fight with video game maker Electronic Arts Inc.

Hall of Famers Herb Adderley and Jim Brown asked U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken to let them file the legal document in support of former Nebraska Cornhusker Sam Keller, who sued EA and the NCAA in Oakland federal court last year.

Keller, who also played for Arizona State University before transferring, accused the Redwood City, Calif., company and the NCAA of unfairly using images of college basketball and football players in its NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball games.

EA and the NCAA argue they have a free speech right to use the images, which don't include the players' names but often reflects the players' race, jersey number and athletic ability. EA and the NCAA argue that they are allowed to use the images without players' permission because the video game action is based on freely available data such as their "likenesses, performance statistics and biographical information."

They argue that that publicity rights claims such as Keller's are limited to advertisements rather than to video games.