Class action claims sports gear sellers rigged Mississippi school bids for more than 13 years.

On Oct. 22, 2026, Hancock County School District filed a class action lawsuit against Riddell Sports Group Inc., BSN Sports LLC and five other sports equipment companies in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

The district alleges the companies conspired from at least July 2010 through at least October 2023 to rig bids and fix prices on athletic gear they sold to Mississippi public schools.

Mississippi's school bidding rules

Mississippi law requires public school districts to get written bids from at least two companies on midsize purchases and choose the lowest and best offer.

A bid counts as competitive only if the company prepares it independently without knowing what others plan to offer, according to the lawsuit. Helmets, uniforms and balls qualify under this law along with services like helmet reconditioning.

How the alleged bid-rigging scheme worked

The complaint alleges competing suppliers swapped pricing information and agreed ahead of time which company would win each contract. The others then reportedly submitted inflated offers meant to lose.

Participants also filed bids on forms from companies no longer in business, forged names and sent fake bids to school officials from separate email addresses, the lawsuit contends.

The Hancock County School District claims it received coordinated complementary bids from Riddell, BSN Sports and Hibbett Team Sales and paid artificially inflated prices as a result.

League rules require standard equipment so districts have to keep buying even when prices climb, the class action alleges. High startup costs reportedly keep new suppliers out. The filing also claims that trade groups and industry conferences gave rival sales teams regular chances to meet and coordinate.

Who has pleaded guilty in the federal probe?

The proposed class action follows a criminal bid-rigging investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division and its results:


  • On Jan. 5, 2024, a Riddell sales professional agreed to plead guilty to conspiring with BSN and others to rig bids.

  • On Jan. 2, 2025, a sales professional who worked for BSN and two other companies admitted in his plea that his conduct caused schools to pay higher prices. On Sept. 3, 2026, a judge sentenced him to three years of probation and a $10,200 fine.

  • On Jan. 13, 2025, a Rex Team Sports sales professional agreed to plead guilty to rigging bids on at least 183 purchases involving at least 38 Mississippi schools. He also admitted to witness tampering by deleting his emails after a grand jury subpoena.

A federal grand jury indicted three more people on Feb. 11, 2026, over bids affecting at least 44 public schools and more than $1 million in taxpayer money.

What the lawsuit means for Mississippi school districts

The district brings one claim under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, the federal law that bars competitors from agreeing to fix prices or rig bids. It seeks three times the districts' losses, a court order barring the conduct, interest and attorneys' fees.

The proposed class covers every Mississippi public school district that bought sports equipment or related services directly from any defendant, its current or former subsidiaries or affiliates, or a coconspirator. There is no settlement, no claims process and no money available at this time.