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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.
