Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Rodeo cowboy association’s rule changes allegedly lasso the competition, (Nov 10, 2015)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

New by-laws implemented by a professional rodeo association that prevent association members from participating in events sponsored by a competing rodeo association suppress competition for the services of professional rodeo athletes, according to a complaint filed in the federal district court in Dallas, Texas (The Elite Rodeo Association v. Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, Inc., November 9, 2015).

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest and oldest rodeo sanctioning organization in the world. The PRCA holds over 600 multiple-event rodeos a year. Rodeo athletes must be PRCA members in order to participate in a PRCA-sanctioned rodeo. In addition, rodeo athletes must pay entry fees for events in which they intend to compete.

The complaint states that the American sports landscape is commonly organized around competition between elite athletes who have earned the right to compete through their ability and achievements. Rodeos operate under a different paradigm, in which PRCA rodeos are overwhelmingly open to any member who pays the entry fees. This structure creates a number of obstacles to growing the sport of rodeo. Top athletes often compete at off hours with empty arenas and do not consistently compete with other top athletes. Obtaining television coverage is difficult. Also, full time rodeo athletes who compete for a living constantly have to travel across the country and risk career-threatening injuries that could happen at any time.

For many years, the top rodeo athletes have attempted to engage the PRCA in discussion to alleviate these issues and help grow the sport. However, the PRCA has rebuffed these efforts at every turn. As a result, in 2014, a number of top rodeo athletes—including Trevor Brazile, Bobby Mote, and Ryan Motes—formed the Elite Rodeo Association (ERA). The idea for the ERA was to create a stage for the best rodeo athletes to compete in a series of tour events. Similar to PRCA-sanctioned rodeos, ERA rodeos will be multiple-event rodeos, culminating in a world championship. ERA’s goal is to increase the popularity of rodeo overall and to advance the opportunities available to rodeo athletes, the complaint alleges.

According to the complaint, ERA was designed to co-exist with the PRCA by providing an outlet exclusively for professional rodeo athletes and not to replace PRCA rodeos. However, one week after the ERA’s announcement on September 15 that its top rodeo athletes would focus their tour schedules on the ERA tour, the PRCA’s board of directors passed amendments to their association by-laws. One of the rules, “Conflicting Rodeo Association Bylaws,” is aimed directly at reducing competition in the market for the services of professional rodeo cowboys. The rule prohibits any PRCA member from pursuing interests in a competing rodeo association. Another rule prohibits local rodeo committees from producing a rodeo event by a competing rodeo association within 72 hours before or after a PRCA sanctioned rodeo.

The ERA has already been impacted by these anticompetitive by-laws. Although ERA has approached multiple local rodeo committees and vendors about participating in the ERA tour and has offered better economic terms that those offered by the PRCA, those entities have declined to get involved with the ERA tour. The PRCA allegedly implemented the new anticompetitive by-laws directly in response to a perceived threat from the ERA. The PRCA has also changed its membership application to force professional rodeo cowboys to agree to comply with the new anticompetitive by-laws. These restrictions are oppressive and serve the PRCA’s substantial market power to suppress competition, the complaint also alleges.

ERA asserts claims for group boycott and monopolization in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. The action seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, costs of suit, attorney fees, and any other just and proper relief.

The case is No. 3:15-cv-03609-M.

Attorneys: T. Ray Guy and Olivia Zimmerman Miller (Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP) for The Elite Rodeo Association, Trevor Brazile, Bobby Mote, and Ryan Motes.

Companies: Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, Inc.

News: Antitrust TexasNews