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The National Collegiate Athletic Association's top governing board is urging California Governor Gavin Newsom to reject a bill that would allow athletes in the state to be compensated for their name, image and likeness.
The Board of Governors wrote to Newsom on Wednesday, saying that the legislation would erase the distinction between college and professional athletes. The NCAA has long maintained paying athletes would undermine the concept that collegiate sports is at the amateur level.
"Right now, nearly half a million student-athletes in all 50 states compete under the same rules," the board wrote in the letter to Newsom. "This bill would remove that essential element of fairness and equal treatment that forms the bedrock of college sports. The NCAA continues to focus on the best interests of all student-athletes nationwide. NCAA member schools already are working on changing rules for all student-athletes to appropriately use their name, image and likeness in accordance with our values -- but not pay them to play. The NCAA has consistently stood by its belief that student-athletes are students first, and they should not be employees of the university."
