Duke A.D. Kevin White Expresses Concern over NIL Legislation
Duke athletics director Kevin White released a lengthy statement outlining his concerns on name, image and likeness (NIL) legislation. California and Florida have both passed laws allowing student athletes to benefit off of their NIL rights, and the NCAA has taken steps toward allowing it at member schools.
Prior to becoming an administrator, White coached track & field at Southeast Missouri State and was an assistant track and cross country coach at Central Michigan.
“As a former Olympic sport coach and as the director of athletics at a number of NCAA institutions, I am deeply concerned about the potential consequences of legislation permitting student-athletes to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL),” he said. “First of all, let me say that I got into college athletics because of my unadulterated admiration and affection for the young women and men who represent our colleges and universities. It has been my honor to work with and for them for more than 45 years. Moreover, as a member of the USOPC Board and chair of its College Advisory Council, my passion is the continued advancement of Olympic sports, especially at the collegiate level.”
“Along with my colleague and friend Bubba Cunningham, (athletic director) of the University of North Carolina,” he continued, “I am concerned about potential complications attendant upon the actual implementation of NIL legislation. How will it impact recruiting? Will it create a wide-open marketplace in which institutions solicit businesses or boosters to offer ever-escalating endorsement deals to a star high-school quarterback or point guard? Will resources from equipment, apparel and shoe companies be redirected to a relatively few individuals rather than being shared equally among the lesser known, but no less valuable, Olympic sports? How will it affect the locker room in which the vast majority of student-athletes go uncompensated? These are but a few of the questions for which we currently have no answers.”
“Bubba and I are concerned about the potential for abuse of NIL legislation,” White said. “You can dismiss our concerns as those of athletics directors eager to preserve the status quo. Much harder to dismiss is the voice of the student-athletes themselves. The NCAA student-athlete advisory committee, made up entirely of student-athletes, has expressed its concern that ‘There are a plethora of potential unintended consequences,” to permitting the use of NIL. Among them, the identify ‘unfair recruiting and competitive advantages, difficulty monitoring compensation and ethics, unequal treatment of female athletes and exploiting of athletes.’ These are the legitimate issues raised by the athletes themselves. This is their voice; it should be heard.”
