ANALYSIS/OPINION:
As of this month the NCAA is moving forward with allowing players to receive direct cash payments for the marketing of their images (“Student athletes cleared to cash in on name, image,” Page 1, July 1). This is the latest flurry of institutional changes across the country, and it’s always a terrible mistake when public policies are based on social trends.
It’s disappointing how we keep ignoring history when making new rules. We were made to believe that letting players leave after one or two seasons would not undermine the sport or the quality of the game. Yet I think most people would agree that you can’t maintain a solid program with a higher-than-normal rate of turnover by players. Maybe we should be careful what we wish for.
I recall all the alumni guests who would come to my own sports practices. The coach instructed us to avoid any contact with them. It wasn’t until a teammate was declared ineligible because he had taken money from one of those guests that I understood why. Are we are witnessing the creation of a modern-day system of slavery?
Like many other people, I’m concerned that this new rule will be the gateway to outside influences that end up destroying the integrity of the game. I believe it will enable players to be coerced into manipulating their efforts to affect the outcomes of competitions. However, since our colleges and universities are non-profits, they should have the tools to protect themselves from future lawsuits based on outcomes of games. A few suggestions come to mind: Neutralize the marketing opportunities by removing the names of players from jerseys; if a player signs an agreement with an outside entity, a percentage of those earnings goes back to the schools as reimbursement for the scholarship; educational institutions should sign an additional marketing agreement with scholarship players to determine the amount of money paid out from team/school memorabilia items.
These measures would be some means of monitoring for accountability and fairness.
As a former college athlete, I know this will have a negative impact on every team’s unity. It will stir up jealousy and envy, which always affect team efforts. It’s sad that our country continues to rush into actions from social pressures, never realizing or accepting the long-term warnings until it’s too late.
GREG RALEIGH
Washington
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