Oscar Robertson suit
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The Oscar Robertson suit was an antitrust lawsuit filed by American basketball player Oscar Robertson against the National Basketball Association.
Filed in 1970, the lawsuit was settled in 1976 and resulted in the free agency rules now used in the NBA.
Robertson sought through his lawsuit to block any merger of the NBA with the American Basketball Association, to end the option clause that bound a player to a single NBA team in perpetuity, to end the NBA's college draft binding a player to one team, and to end restrictions on free agent signings. The suit also sought damages for NBA players for past harm caused by the option clause.
Robertson's lawsuit prevented the planned 1970 merger of the National Basketball Association with the American Basketball Association. Early in the suit, the court issued an injunction against any merger. In 1972 Congress came close to enacting legislation to enable a merger but the measure was not passed. As a result, the two leagues did not merge until 1976.
