Darryl Morsell of Maryland, Isaiah Livers of Michigan, Geo Baker of Rutgers and Jordan Bohannon of Iowa were among the college basketball players pushing for NCAA reforms on social media Wednesday, the day before the tournament tips off.
With the hashtag #NotNCAAProperty, players pushed for the association to permit college athletes to earn money for things like sponsorship deals, online endorsement and personal appearances.
“The NCAA OWNS my name image and likeness,” Baker tweeted. “Someone on music scholarship can profit from an album. Someone on academic scholarship can have a tutor service. For ppl who say “an athletic scholarship is enough.” Anything less than equal rights is never enough. I am #NotNCAAProperty”
“OUR VOICES WILL BE HEARD. #NotNCAAProperty,” tweeted Morsell, a senior guard from Mount Saint Joseph and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament starts Thursday with four games. Because of the pandemic, the entire tournament is being played in Indiana, with all 68 teams staying in Indianapolis in what the NCAA has described as a “controlled environment.”
The NCAA is in the process of changing its longstanding rules to allow athletes to profit from their names, images and likenesses. But those efforts have bogged down since the start of 2021.
The NCAA was scheduled to vote on NIL legislation in January, but that was delayed after a letter from the Justice Department warned the proposed changes could violate antitrust laws. Now the DOJ is backing plaintiffs against the NCAA in a case that will be heard by the Supreme Court, further complicating the situation for the NCAA.
Earlier this week, NCAA President Mark Emmert told The Associated Press that he was frustrated by the delay in NIL reform and hoped that rules would be in place for the start of the next fall semester as was originally intended.
But there is a good chance the gridlock doesn’t let up until after the Supreme Court hands down a decision.
Meanwhile, Maryland is set to become the latest state to offer college athletes the opportunity to profit off their names and likenesses as legislation that would expand athletes’ rights nears final approval in the General Assembly.
The Jordan McNair Safe and Fair Play Act, named after the former University of Maryland offensive lineman who died in 2018 after suffering from heatstroke at a team workout, has passed on third reading in both the House of Delegates and the state Senate.
If the act is signed into law, Maryland would join six states, including California, Colorado and Florida, that have voted to expand college athletes’ name, image and likeness (NIL) rights. More than two dozen states are considering versions of NIL legislation in 2021.
Livers, the second leading scorer for top-seeded Michigan, simply Tweeted: “I am #NotNCAAProperty”
Bohannon has been a vocal proponent for NCAA reforms that give athletes more rights. Earlier this year he was among several college athletes in Iowa to publicly back the state legislature’s NIL bill.
“It’s been far too long,” he tweeted. “Time for our voices to be heard. #NotNCAAProperty”
Baltimore Sun staff contributed to this article.