California, NCAA butt heads over passed bill

Players could get paid in ways not now allowed

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California would allow college athletes to earn money from the use of their names, images and likenesses under a bill passed by the state Legislature on Wednesday and headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The legislation has garnered national attention, with athletes such as NBA stars LeBron James and Draymond Green praising the potential for California to give college athletes a share of the windfall they help create for their universities and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Senate gave final approval of Senate Bill 206 by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley).

But the NCAA has forcefully pushed back against the bill, saying it has the potential to kill amateur athletics if it becomes law. The NCAA sent Newsom a letter Wednesday calling the legislation “unconstitutional” and “harmful.”

“If the bill becomes law and California’s 58 NCAA schools are compelled to allow an unrestricted name, image and likeness scheme, it would erase the critical distinction between col

lege and professional athletics and, because it gives those schools an unfair recruiting advantage, would result in them eventually being unable to compete in NCAA competitions,” the letter said.

Three California universities — San Jose State, Fresno State and San Diego State — compete in the Mountain West Conference with New Mexico as full members. Cal Baptist and CSU Bakersfield are the two that compete in the Western Athletic Conference with New Mexico State in basketball.

NCAA President Mark Emmert and 21 other members of the organization’s board of governors signed the letter. Emmert sent a letter to state legislators in June that warned of dire consequences if the bill passed.

Skinner dismissed the NCAA’s warnings and said in a statement Wednesday that legal scholars have concluded her bill is in fact constitutional.

“The NCAA has repeatedly lost anti-trust cases in courts throughout the nation,” Skinner said. “As a result, threats are their primary weapon.”

NCAA rules bar athletes from being compensated for use of their names, images or likenesses. The bill would not allow schools to directly pay athletes, but would permit students to receive compensation from outside sources — for example, from a video game company or for signing autographs or memorabilia.

Lawmakers supporting the bill provided examples of other situations in which college athletes are unable to earn money for their services that they said simply do not seem fair: a collegiate swimmer barred from teaching swim lessons, a volleyball player unable to put on a summer camp or a baseball player who can’t promote an autobiographical book.

“Forget shoe deals and video games, NCAA athletes can’t make a little money over the summer coaching youth sports, can’t promote their social media, can’t model athletic wear, can’t accept groceries or help with rent or equipment,” Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) said. “When a line in the sand is enforced obsessively, excessively and to the point of absurdity, that’s usually a sign it doesn’t belong there.”