Like it or not, the issue and developing story of the usage of a college athlete’s name, image, and likeness isn’t going away. We’ve already seen California Pass the Fair Pay to Play Act, and other states have either introduced or threatened similar types of legislature. Heck, the NCAA has even weighed in, knowing that it’s likely inevitable that athlete’s eventually get compensated in some way as the big business of college athletics continues to evolve.
One of the people with Ohio State ties that can actually do something about introducing a bill to police this thing at the federal level is former Ohio State receiver and current Ohio U.S. representative Anthony Gonzalez.
Gonzalez has been very outspoken about introducing something at the federal level to try and bring some continuity, transparency, and consistency with how the issue of compensation for college play is handled. However, he’s been relatively silent since we first hear about his intentions.
But no more.
The former OSU receiver released five pillars of what he believes should be considered with any move towards further compensation for college athletes. You can get a look at all of them below in a Tweet shared by Dan Murphy of ESPN.
Congressman Anthony Gonzalez (and former All-Big Ten WR) has long planned to create legislation for new college sports compensation rules. Today, he released five pillars he says should be included in any federal laws passed about name, image and likeness. pic.twitter.com/ex3s9j4riJ
— Dan Murphy (@DanMurphyESPN) February 6, 2020
I have to say, getting something done federally seems like a very important step in this process so that states — and by extension — college programs within those states don’t treat this quickly evolving situation differently.
There’s not a whole lot more to report on this for now, but we’ll keep our ears to the ground here at Buckeyes Wire.