Charles Barkley slams NCAA chief over NIL idea
The new NIL rules in college football, basketball, and other sports have forever changed the face of collegiate athletics and legally put money into the pockets of student athletes for the first time ever.
But the variety of rules governing how NIL is regulated in different states has resulted in a ton of confusion, infuriating just about everyone involved.
New NCAA chief Charlie Baker wants to end that confusion by taking the whole project to Congress and having them fix it, saying he wants one national standard for the practice.
But having the government step in rubbed long-time basketball analyst Charles Barkley the wrong way.
"That pisses me off"
“Did he say we’re going to ask the politicians to help us? See, that pisses me off already,” Barkley said.
“Our politicians are awful people... I would actually go to people who actually care about basketball," and presumably football and other sports.
Barkley added, "I would put a committee together, I would love for Clark [Kellogg, Barkley's fellow analyst] to be on the committee.
"Get some coaches, get some players and let’s try to work this thing out.
“We can’t ask these politicians nothing. Those people are awful people — Democrats and Republicans. They’re all crooks.”
NIL in college sports
Related: What is NIL in college football? Here's what you need to know
In 2021, the NCAA revolutionized the environment around students making money when it changed its longstanding rule restricting the practice, now enabling athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness.
Some athletes have been able to build on their careers away from the field by becoming social media influencers and making six or seven figures off endorsements as a result.
Related: Numbers hint NIL may be helping college football
One option that's been floated is that the NCAA could create its own single rule for how to regulate NIL, but Baker has expressed concern that this would run into conflict with existing state laws, hence his interest in getting it done on a national level.
That is, if he can get the people Barkley calls "crooks" all on the same page. And that's not something that happens a lot in Washington these days.
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