As debate continues over whether or not college athletes should be compensated for their name, image and likeness as well as the revenue they generate, advocates and former players came forward Wednesday to the White House to press the issue.
“The narrative that has been going around for so long is that the NCAA needs help and protection,” said Rod Gilmore, a former Stanford University defensive back who now works as an ESPN college football analyst, in an interview with Spectrum News. “But being here and seeing the White House interested in helping and listening to players and former players in player protection was refreshing.”
“Finally, the players will be heard,” he said.
In addition to Gilmore, President Joe Biden met with former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, former University of Georgia running back and Players’ Lounge co-founder and CEO Keith Marshall, College Football Players Association representative Jordan Meachum and ESPN SportsCenter anchor Kevin Negandhi. , former NFL safety Ryan Clark and former Heisman Trophy winner and ESPN College Gameday host Desmond Howard.
According to White House officials before the meeting, the group’s conversation focused on why student-athletes need consistent safety standards and benefit from the revenue they generate.
During their visit, the group met with National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard and Senior Advisor and Director of the Office of Public Engagement Steve Benjamin.
Neghandi told reporters after the meeting that they met with the president and staff for “45 minutes to an hour” on the issue.
“I think the president was curious about the safety of the sport and the evolution of these athletes, how NIL (name, image, likeness) is now managing the sports landscape after the last two years,” he said. declared.
Another major concern is the lasting health impact that high contact sports can have on players.
“Unfortunately, over the last 20 years, 30 college athletes have died during offseason training,” Gilmore said. “By comparison, the NFL has had no deaths in the last 20 years. Their last death was in 2000, and none since. Clearly, because of the way they are approaching the issue, the NFL is doing what “It takes and protects players. We don’t. This doesn’t happen in college. We need to do a better job of taking care of them and keeping them healthy, safe and alive during practice. And then medical coverage needs to be better two years after playing, it’s just not adequate.”
Gilmore added that there is a sense of concern from the White House regarding what college athletes are experiencing.
“There is a clear sense of understanding and urgency to ensure that athletes are not treated as second-class citizens, in the sense that, when it comes to their name, image and likeness, they should have the same rights as all other Americans. and that when it comes to health and safety, we need better protection for college athletes, both in and out of season, as well as for medical care once their careers over,” Gilmore said.
In 2021, the NCAA ruled that college athletes could profit from their name, image and likeness. Open predicted that college athletes will earn nearly $1.2 billion in NIL transactions in 2023.
“The players want their piece of the pie and that makes perfect sense,” Howard told Spectrum News. “I’ve been doing this for almost two decades. We started with the BCS (Bowl Championship Series), then we moved to the four-playoff team model, and now we’re about to move to the team model of four playoffs of 12 playoff series. That means “This is going to generate a lot more revenue. Are the players going to get a piece of this pie? Nobody ever talked about it. “
Howard said it’s a topic that needs to be discussed.
“NIL is the conferences, the NCAA and the universities, blaming businesses and corporations,” Howard said. “So they still won’t have to share this huge piece of the pie.”
And while no decisions have yet been made at the White House meeting on college athlete compensation, Congress has already introduced several pieces of legislation on the issue this year.
A bipartisan bill introduced earlier this year in the Senate, the College Athlete Protection and Compensation Act, aims to reform college athletics and prioritize the health, education and economic rights of athletes. Another bipartisan bill, the Protecting Athletes, Schools, and Sports (PASS) Act of 2023would require disclosure of the amount players earn from NIL transactions.
Neither proposal has yet been put to a vote.
“The model has to change,” Gilmore said. “This is a $20 billion a year industry. There is a lot of money available to ensure that college athletes, whether they play revenue sports or not, are treated more fairly. The model must change.”
