Per the case, the level of athleticism required of an All-Star team makes membership highly coveted and competitive. More specifically, All-Star gyms such as the plaintiff coordinate teams’ participation in competitions by paying registration fees, handling schedules and logistics, and buying All-Star apparel. Notably, All-Star Cheer, with a focus on gymnastics and acrobatics, is separate and apart from traditional school cheerleading, such as that seen on the sidelines of a football game, in that an All-Star cheer team exists as a club open to all area athletes, the suit adds.Ī “notoriously expensive team sport” ranging from $3,000 to $6,000 per participant, All-Star Cheer is typically facilitated through privately owned and operated companies that organize training and practices, the complaint explains. Finals.Īll-Star Cheer, as defined by the USA Federation for Sport Cheering, is a discipline involving two-and-a-half minute routines comprised of tumbling, stunting pyramids and dance, the lawsuit says. All Star Federation, Inc.-have come to dominate the market for All-Star cheerleading through a continued and systematic series of acquisitions and other anticompetitive conduct.Īccording to the complaint, the defendants’ conduct has allowed them to acquire, maintain and enhance control over the three most important national cheerleading championships-the Cheerleading World Championships, The Summit and the U.S. The 49-page lawsuit alleges the defendants-Varsity Brands, Varsity Spirit, Varsity Fashion & Supplies and U.S. New to ? Read our Newswire DisclaimerĪ California All-Star Cheer gym alleges in a lawsuit that Varsity Brands and a group of subsidiaries have violated federal antitrust laws by charging artificially inflated prices for participation in All-Star competitions and for All-Star apparel. “In so doing, Varsity’s Exclusionary Scheme has led to reduced output, supracompetitive prices, and reduced choice in both Relevant Markets.”ĭuring the time period described in the suit, Varsity and its co-defendants have collectively controlled roughly 90 percent of the All-Star Cheer competition market-including all three national championship events-and approximately 80 percent of the sport’s apparel market, according to the lawsuit, which can be found here. “Varsity has used its dominant market power in the Relevant Markets to substantially foreclose competition in both markets and thereby maintain and enhance its dominance in both markets,” the lawsuit summarizes. All Star Federation have engaged in unlawful conduct to suppress competition and charge inflated prices within the All-Star Cheer competition and apparel markets.Įchoing the complaint detailed on this page, the 60-page lawsuit out of Pennsylvania federal court claims the defendants have over the last 15 years come to gain and maintain monopoly control over “every aspect” of All-Star competitive cheerleading-a “notoriously expensive sport”-by systematically buying up actual and potential rivals, weaponizing exclusionary contract terms, and utilizing their market leverage to relegate would-be challengers to “B-league status.” A Clarkston, Michigan All-Star Cheer academy has filed at least the second proposed class action alleging Varsity Brands, Varsity Spirit, Varsity Spirit Fashion & Supplies and U.S.
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