NCAA eyes interim college athlete pay plan
NCAA President Mark Emmert said Wednesday the association is working on interim rules that will permit college athletes to earn money off their fame and celebrity by July and act as a bridge until there is a permanent solution.
In a memo sent to member schools and obtained by The Associated Press, Emmert acknowledged the current uncertainty across college sports as it moves toward allowing name, image and likeness compensation for athletes.
“We are focused on providing you additional guidance to make the introduction of the NIL era as smooth as possible,” he wrote in the memo, which was first reported by The Athletic.
Six states — Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and New Mexico — have laws set to go into effect July 1 that would undercut existing NCAA rules and give athletes to opportunity to be paid by third parties for things such as sponsorship deals, online endorsements and personal appearances.
Some California lawmakers want to launch the state’s “Fair Pay to Play Act” for this coming college football season. The California law, which allows student-athletes in college to earn money for the use of their name, image and likeness is now set to go into effect in 2023.
Several other state laws could also go into effect in July. Without NCAA action, athletes in some states could be making money without putting their college eligibility in jeopardy while their counterparts in other states could be in danger of breaking NCAA rules.
“Although permanent NIL rule changes by July 1 are unlikely due to the legal environment, we are working with divisional governance bodies to develop interim solutions that will fairly allow student-athletes to take advantage of NIL opportunities regardless of the state in which they are enrolled,” Emmert wrote.
Last week, Emmert sent a letter to membership urging legislative action on NIL rules or he would take executive action on a temporary solution.
The NCAA Division I Council met Tuesday and Wednesday but was not expected to take any action on NIL. The leaders of six Division I conferences have urged D-I Council to shelve a NIL proposal that has been in limbo for months and instead proposed a stopgap measure that would allow schools to implement NIL rules until a federal law is passed.
Soccer
EARTHQUAKES BLOWN OUT BY ORLANDO >> The Earthquakes’ troubles continued Tuesday night as Daryl Dike and Benji Michel each scored two goals, and Nani had a goal and two assists as Orlando City beat San Jose 5-0 in Florida.
Orlando (5-1-3) won for the fifth time in seven games — with a draw. San Jose (3-6-1) has lost five during a six-match winless stretch.
The game was delayed in the 40th minute for about an hour due to lightening in the area.
The five goals were the most Orlando (5-1-3, 18 points) has scored since a 5-1 win over Cincinnati on May 19, 2019, and the most San Jose (3-6-1, 10 points) had allowed since a 5-0 defeat to Colorado last September.
PORTUGAL, GERMANY STAY ALIVE IN EURO 2020 >> Cristiano Ronaldo scored two penalties to tie the overall men’s scoring record with 109 goals and give Portugal a 2-2 draw with France and a spot in the round of 16 of the European Championship.
Also, Leon Goretzka scored late to keep Germany in the European Championship with a 2-2 draw against with Hungary.
Two own-goals scored by Slovakia in Spain’s 5-0 victory made it eight so far in the group stage at Euro 2020. There had been only nine own-goals in 40 years from the 1976 tournament through Euro 2016.
Motorsports
GORDON LEAVING FOX SPORTS BOOTH FOR HENDRICK ROLE >> Jeff Gordon will leave the Fox Sports booth to take a daily role at Hendrick Motorsports as vice chairman and the second-ranking team official to majority owner Rick Hendrick.
The announcement positions the four-time champion and Hall of Famer to one day succeed the 71-yearold Hendrick at the top of NASCAR’s winningest organization.
Gordon will formally begin the executive management role at the start of 2022.
“Jeff and I have talked about this for many years and I feel it’s a natural evolution for him and our company,” Hendrick said. “He understands our culture, our values, and the importance we place on our people and our partnerships. I couldn’t be more energized about working arm-in-arm with him and cementing the future of Hendrick Motorsports together.”
Gordon joined Hendrick Motorsports for the final Cup race of the 1992 season and launched one of the greatest careers in NASCAR history. He won 93 races — third on the alltime list — and four Cup titles before retiring in 2015.
He joined the Fox Sports booth the next year but maintained an active role with the team as Hendrick’s only partner in the 13-time championship organization.
Tennis
LUCKY LOSER PURCELL UPSETS MONFILS IN EASTBOURNE >> Lucky loser Max Purcell’s unlikely run continued when he reached the quarterfinals by defeating top-seeded Gael Monfils at the grass-court Viking International in Eastbourne.
The 283rd-ranked Australian beat the Frenchman 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 after trailing 3-0 in the deciding set to secure the biggest win of his career. It’s the first time the Purcell has made a tour-level quarterfinals.
Basketball
FOUR WNBA PLAYERS MAKE UP U.S. OLYMPIC 3X3 TEAM >> Kelsey Plum, Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray and Katie Lou Samuelson grew up wanting to play basketball in the Olympics.
They didn’t know it would be as part of the inaugural 3x3 competition at the Tokyo Games.
The four WNBA players, who were all part of the 5-on-5 national team pool, were chosen to represent the United States at the Olympics next month.
Plum plays for the Las Vegas Aces, Dolson for the Chicago Sky, Gray for the Dallas Wings and Samuelson for the Seattle Storm.
The team qualified for the Olympics by winning a tournament in Austria. The men’s 3x3 team didn’t qualify for Tokyo.
There will be seven teams joining the U.S. in Tokyo — China, Mongolia, Romania, Russia, France, Japan and Italy.