A group of college basketball players is aiming to use March Madness to score attention for their cause: Getting paid for the use of their names, images, and likeness.
The players’ effort, spearheaded by three Big Ten athletes, is assisted by the National College Players Association, which released a statement on Wednesday revealing that players from more than 15 of the 68 teams set to play in March Madness have signed on to the protest.
The group has four demands. It is calling for athletes to have the ability to secure representation and receive pay for the use of their name, image, and likeness by July 1, they want a meeting with NCAA President Mark Emmert, and they want meetings with state and federal lawmakers and Biden administration officials to discuss legislation that would provide college athletes physical, academic, and financial protections.
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The players and the NCPA will be using the #NotNCAAProperty hashtag throughout the tournament to raise awareness about the rules they want to see changed.
Six states, Florida, New Jersey, Michigan, California, Colorado, and Nebraska, have already passed laws that will make the current NCAA amateurism rules illegal moving forward, and more than a dozen more states have similar legislation working through the legislative process, according to Sports Illustrated.
Last summer, University of Iowa player Jordan Bohannon, Rutgers University player Geo Baker, and University of Michigan player Isaiah Livers held a meeting with NCPA Executive Director Ramogi Huma to discuss athletes’ rights.
“These players are taking a historic stand to protect the rights and freedoms of generations of players to come,” Huma said. “They are people #NotNCAAProperty.”
The fourth change the players are seeking is the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case, National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston. In December, the court agreed to consider whether it will relax even further the NCAA’s control on how players are rewarded for their work.
The case is a combination of several disputes over compensation for student-athletes. It concerns whether the NCAA’s rules against compensating students related to their education violate federal antitrust law, which the league has long maintained; allow it to impose a number of restrictions on its member institutions to preserve a sense of equity, and keep the NCAA distinct from professional leagues.
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The league appealed the case after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California upheld a lower court ruling finding it in violation of antitrust law.
2021’s March Madness tournament is being played in a bubble in Indiana, starting on Thursday. The Big Dance was canceled last year as a result of the coronavirus.
