Walker: "We Clearly Have the NCAA's Attention"
Statement
U.S. Representative Mark Walker (R-N.C.) today released the following statement after the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Board of Governors announced they would "start [the] process to enhance name, image and likeness opportunities" for student-athletes:
"We clearly have the NCAA's attention. Now, we need to have their action. While their words are promising, they have used words in the past to deny equity and basic constitutional rights for student-athletes. The NCAA is on the clock, and while they are, we're going to keep working towards the passage of the Student-Athlete Equity Act to make sure their words are forced into action."
H.R. 1804, the Student-Athlete Equity Act is bi-partisan legislation, introduced in March that would amend the definition of a qualified amateur sports organization in the tax code to remove the restriction on student-athletes using or being compensated for use of their name, image and likeness -- forcing the NCAA to change its current model.
U.S. Representative Cedric Richmond (D-La.) is the lead co-sponsor of the bill.
"For far too long, the NCAA has arbitrarily set a sham definition of amateurism to strip college athletes of the rights to their own names and self-worth, only promising to create do-nothing commissions when others highlight their exploitation," Walker said after California Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) signed the Fair Pay to Play Act into law last month. "With only a short time until the law takes effect, it is imperative that the House Ways and Means Committee begins to review and advance my Student-Athlete Equity Act."
Just a few weeks ago, Walker hosted a roundtable discussion with ESPN analyst and former college basketball player Jay Bilas, former NFL and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes, U.S. Representative Cedric Richmond (D-La.), U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah), U.S. Representative John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), and thought leaders in college athletics reforms.
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