US supreme court notes 'disturbing' trends in colleges' treatment of athletes

• Student athletes' dispute with NCAA reaches supreme court
• Liberal and conservative justices appear sympathetic to athletes

The US supreme court on Wednesday seemed ready to give college athletes a win in a dispute with their governing body, the NCAA.

With the March Madness basketball tournament in its final stages, the court heard arguments in a case about how colleges can reward athletes who play basketball and football in Division I, the highest level of college sports. Under current NCAA rules, students cannot be paid, and the scholarship money colleges can offer is capped at the cost of attending the school. The NCAA defends its rules as necessary to preserve the amateur nature of college sports.