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Starting thread on Senate Judiciary NIL hearing. Sen. Blumenthal: "For far too long special interests have hidden in effect a multibillion dollar industry from scrutiny under the masquerade of amateurism"
Blumenthal: "Collegiate sports that generate the highest revenue are disproportionately played by students of color. Our current system denies them to the revenue their labor generates and that’s unfair, unjust and reflects racial injustice as well as economic injustice."
Blumenthal calls schools rushing to bring football players back to campus a "slow motion potential catastrophe." Cites the clusters of COVID outbreaks at places like Ohio State
Sen. Booker: "The (Power Five) proposals are too restrictive to benefit college athletes."
Sen. Graham: "We’ve got to do something because you don’t want the wild, wild west out there."
I'm not going to recap much of Clemson AD Dan Radakovich's opening statement. You've heard it all before.
Ramogi Huma of the National Collegiate Players' Association: "NCAA sports is a racially discriminatory, predatory industry."
Sen. Graham: "You're going to unleash holy hell if you don't control people willing to buy a player to come to a school. How do we deal with that because I don't want that to happen?"
Sen. Graham reiterates that "you can't have a system where rabid alumni" are paying players. (Insert joke here)
Oh my God. Mark Emmert said he's never in his career seen a school pull a scholarship from a player due to injury.
Blumenthal is in no mood to digest the brand of bologna Emmert has brought to the hearing.
The hearing has veered off NIL and into health and safety, loss of value insurance policies, etc.
Sen. Booker is laying into Emmert, saying things that were talked about in a hearing six years ago haven't been addressed. "Now the NCAA is running to us because states have tried to put rules in to create more fairness"
Sen. Lee asks: "Why shouldn't we let the free market play out naturally?" Emmert: The marketplace would be distorted by the interests of boosters who don't care about the actual value of the marketing rights
Sen. Lee now going in on Emmert for the NCAA's stance on the issue of transgender participation
In response to Sen. Hawley question about NIL impact on recruiting, Radakovich says: "I don't believe it would be that big of an issue as long as the rules are the same throughout the country."
LOL. Blumenthal just gives Radakovich a warning about lying to Congress because of a comment calling it "misinformation" that schools pull scholarships. Radakovich said he's never seen it.
Emmert says it's "inappropriate" for schools to be asking athletes to sign waivers
Blumenthal to Emmert: "I’d suggest maybe you should up your game on other kinds of protections" before the NCAA is thinking about getting immunity from Congress.
Booker is dismantling the idea that various state laws would create a competitive disadvantage for some schools by pointing out that Clemson pays its coach more than anyone else, facility disparities, etc.
Radakovich walks into the trap, says he wants to give athletes the same opportunity to take advantage of the market as coaches have. But the P5's proposal does not do that.
