Sports

NCAA Should Be Scorned For Punting On Providing Athletes True NIL Rights

The clock is ticking.

By  
on

As of January 14, the only state that can accurately and confidently declare that college athletes will have the ability to commercialize their names, images, and likenesses in 2021 is Florida. That is true despite numerous college athletic programs announcing the creation of programs, bearing unique names such as LEVERAGE and SOAR.

For some time, there has been little to no doubt that college athletes across the country will be able to enjoy some form of publicity rights, even if it meant that athletes in certain states (such as Florida) may have more expansive and less restrictive rights than athletes in other states that have either passed legislation on the subject that will go into effect after 2021 or otherwise. The belief was that the NCAA would finally step up to the plate and hold a vote on proposed legislation with an effective date of August 1, 2021.

The vote was supposed to be held by the NCAA Division I Council during its January meeting. Instead of voting, the Council announced that it was indefinitely delaying any movement on the important athletes’ rights issue. The NCAA is rightfully receiving a fair share of criticism for punting on the vote at the last minute, without any guidance as to if or when a vote on the matter will be rescheduled, from members of Congress, athlete rights advocates, and others.

“Delaying the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) vote is yet another signal that the NCAA hopes the federal government will save it from having to fairly compensate their athletes,” stated U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT). “That’s not going to happen. The college sports industry has a fundamental civil rights issue at the core of its business model, and it’s clear the NCAA doesn’t want to do anything serious to address the inequities that players face. I’m working on legislation to fix this issue by granting athletes the broad ability to make money off of their likeness, and collectively bargain for additional reforms to the system, and am hopeful it will move in this new Congress.”

The NCAA has practically begged Congress to step in to create the law and regulations surrounding college athletes’ publicity rights. It had hoped that Congress would include an antitrust exemption for the NCAA, but it appears that such a wish is rather unlikely to be granted and, instead, the NCAA’s reticence could lead to Congress further pushing the envelope and providing athletes with even more expansive rights than simply the ability to commercialize their names, images, and likenesses. Proposed legislation from U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) would do just that.

“Fair compensation delayed is fair compensation denied. Yet again, the NCAA has missed an opportunity to finally do right by college athletes,” said Booker and Blumenthal in a joint statement. “The NCAA’s delay reinforces the need for Congress and individual states to move forward with legislative remedies that will provide college athletes with rights that the NCAA continues to neglect. NCAA’s disappointing decision further fuels our commitment to passing a strong College Athletes Bill of Rights that will truly advance justice and opportunity for college athletes.”

Ramogi Huma, an athlete advocate and executive director of the National College Players Association also expressed disdain for the NCAA after it promised athletes these rights for over a year and then, all of a sudden, decided to indefinitely postpone a vote on the matter.

Sponsored

“The NCAA is announcing that college athletes can’t benefit from
their own name on the same day of the biggest money-making game in college football — the national championship. It’s a slap in the face to college athletes,” said Huma. “Many of these athletes are Black and from low-income homes — the NCAA treats them like disposable university property. Scores of college athletes are being used to generate money for NCAA sports in a pandemic without the NCAA enforcing any COVID standards. This is what they get in return for their sacrifice?”

Finally, Florida State Representative Chip LaMarca, who sponsored the legislation on name, image, and likeness that ultimately became Florida’s law, effective July 1, said, “allowing collegiate athletes to enter the free market clearly does not fit the NCAA business model. If it did, the NCAA would have evolved years ago. Collegiate athletes cannot wait on congressional intervention or NCAA inaction any longer.”

The clock is ticking. Less than six months remains until Florida’s law goes into effect and not much time for the NCAA to adjust its legislation, gather the Council for a vote, and implement a system to streamline the process. Meanwhile, Congress is also left with little time to consider a number of pending bills on the subject matter, and has other issues of great concern to confront over the coming months. It is possible that, come July 1, 2021, only athletes in Florida are able to enjoy the ability to earn money when they are not actively participating in sporting events.

Darren Heitner is the founder of Heitner Legal. He is the author of How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, published by the American Bar Association, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. You can reach him by email at heitner@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @DarrenHeitner.

Sponsored

Topics

, ,