TEMPE, Ariz. — One of the most dangerous men in college athletics hardly looks the part. Grant House recently relaxed in a downtown Tempe hotel lobby sporting jeans, a scruffy beard and a T-shirt that read “You Probably Don’t Recognize Me Without My Cape.”
In that sense, the Arizona State swimmer was your typical college student. Definitely not Superman.
His swim practices alone take up to 20 hours per week. The humble 24-year-old graduate student from Indiana is lucky to be recognized.
“I was out to dinner three or four weeks ago and I got stopped by two freshmen on the football team,” House recalled. “They said, ‘You’re Grant House, right? You’re the swim guy.'”
He is much more than that. House is the lead plaintiff in an antitrust lawsuit that could change college athletics. House v. NCAA seeks to wipe out the remainder of the NCAA’s ability to cap compensation. The suit claims college athletes are entitled to a share of college sports TV revenue as well as money from their likenesses appearing in video games.
Because it is an antitrust case, damages could be tripled. If the case goes to a jury and the NCAA loses, the association could be on the hook for at least $1.4 billion.
USA Today recently quoted a sports economics expert for the plaintiffs who said 7,000 current and former athletes would be entitled to that money.
“It’s the case that could end the NCAA,” sports law attorney Mit Winter told CBS Sports.
Maybe not dangerous, but House is certainly willing and ready to be the thoughtful tip of this legal spear. His fellow plaintiffs include women’s basketball star Sedona Prince, now at TCU, and former Illinois football player Tymir Oliver. House previously sat for a seven-hour deposition in January, one in which he was grilled by NCAA attorneys.
House recalls being inspired by music students while in ASU’s honors college. As musicians, those students could get paid to play at…
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