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ESPN
Calif. bill to pay NCAA athletes takes another step
A bill in California that would make it possible for college athletes
to accept endorsement money moved one step closer to becoming law
Monday evening. The California State Assembly voted 73-0 in favor of
the proposed law known as the Fair Pay to Play Act.
The Fair Pay to Play Act would make it illegal for colleges and
universities in California to take away an athlete's scholarship or
eligibility as a punishment for that athlete profiting from his or her
name, image or likeness. If passed, the new law would go into effect in
January 2023.
The bill was introduced by state Senator Nancy Skinner in February, and
it has received an overwhelming majority of support on its way through
the legislative process. The state senate voted 31-5 to pass the bill
in May. Because it has been amended since then, the bill now moves back
to the senate for approval. If the senate votes in favor again, it will
land on the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who can sign it into law.
California's senate is expected to vote on the amended bill in the near
future, which would put it on pace to land on Newsom's desk some time
before the end of September.
"To me, this is fundamental fairness," Skinner told ESPN in August.
"California law basically gives each of us the right that no one can
use my name, market my name or make money off of my name, or my photo,
without my permission, or without sharing that revenue with me. The
only people in the entire state of California for whom that is the case
are student-athletes."
EDITOR'S PICKS
California schools and the NCAA have opposed the bill because it would
make it impossible for those schools to follow the NCAA's amateurism
rules. NCAA president Mark Emmert wrote a letter to legislators in May
that said, in part, the proposed law might make it impossible for the
NCAA to include California schools in national championship games if
those schools were operating under a different set of rules. Skinner
and other lawmakers in California interpreted Emmert's letter as a
threat.
Emmert asked the state politicians to give the NCAA more time to
consider making changes to the way it treats the name, image and
likeness rights of student-athletes. The organization formed a working
group to study potential modifications to its current rules. That group
is scheduled to report its findings to the NCAA's board of governors at
some time in October.
Skinner and others have argued that the NCAA has had plenty of time to
reconsider its policies during the past decade amid a series of civil
lawsuits dealing with similar issues. Skinner also noted that the NCAA
hasn't acted since a commission headlined by Condoleezza Rice suggested
last year that college athletes should be able to receive endorsement
money.
"That was a commission that they themselves initiated," Skinner said. "I'd say, yeah, they probably need legislative pressure."
If the bill is signed into law by Newsom, the NCAA and other states
will have three years to decide how to react. Proponents of the bill
hope that the recruiting advantage that California schools would have
if athletes in the state are allowed to make money will prompt other
states to adopt similar legislation. Several other states already have
considered similar laws. Mark Walker, a Congressman from North
Carolina, also has proposed a federal law that would have the same
effect.
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