Former Aggies Alex Sinatra and Trayveon Williams discuss their class at Texas A&M on NIL and athlete advocacy.
When sports attorney and sports business consultant Alex Sinatra reached out to former Texas A&M running back Trayveon Williams via Twitter direct message, she didn’t know if he would respond. They weren’t even connected on Twitter. However, two days later he responded and agreed to co-teach a law school class with Sinatra about Name, Image, & Likeness and Athlete Advocacy at Texas A&M University School of Law. They ended up being connected through something stronger than Twitter, they were part of the Aggie Network.
The duo set out to create a class that kept athletes at the focus and pushed Sinatra’s mantra that Athletes are Humans First and Williams’ mantra that athlete are More Than Athletes. While Williams is not an attorney, Sinatra knew that his experience as a college and professional athlete was extremely valuable for future attorneys and athlete advocates to understand.
The class is open to current Texas A&M University School of Law students and the first cohort is currently going through the class.
“Participating in the NIL & Athlete Advocacy course has been one of the most enlightening experiences of my time in law school,” Texas A&M University School of Law student Kate Rosenberg said of the class. “Our professors teach us from two vastly different perspectives, and my fellow students continue to amaze me with their creativity and ingenuity when it comes to navigating the NIL educational space.”
Another student in the class, Hayden Campbell had this to say, “Athlete advocacy is easily my favorite class Iβve taken in law school! Professors Sinatra and Williams approach the class in a very unique way. They go beyond just teaching us rules and regulations. Instead, they encourage us to be responsible for our own learning and understanding while offering guidance and ideas as we need it. They also place an emphasis on developing soft skills and reinforcing the idea that weβre working with athletes, and that Athletes are Humans First. I love the course, and anyone who ever has the opportunity to take the course, or any course taught by professors Sinatra and Williams should jump at the opportunity!”
The Dean of the law school Robert Ahdieh, also wanted to allow others interested in this emerging field of law to benefit from the duo’s unique one-of-a-kind class. Therefore they set out to create workshops for law students and attorneys on the topic. These workshops are open to laws students and attorneys around the world.
“I attended the first of three CLE workshops presented by our professors as both a student and in my position as Director of NIL for the University of Texas at Arlington,” Rosenberg shared”. Although I hold a position specifically focused on this area, I find that I am constantly learning new perspectives, concerns, and ideas about NIL. Attending these workshops, and hearing not only how to succeed in navigating NIL, but how to do it while being the best advocate I can be for the student athletes I work with, are invaluable opportunities and I canβt wait to attend the next one.”
They are also creating workshops for the community at large and dates for those are forthcoming.
Bengals Running Back Trayveon Williams To Co-Teach NIL Course At Texas A&M School Of Law
“It was important for me to teach everyone who will be involved and is currently involved in the sports ecosystem that Athletes are Humans First,” Sinatra said.
“They are more than a number, record, or their statistics. They have families, friends, and lives outside of their sport. To often athletes are seen as commodities to be traded or sold or as the reason someone lost money in fantasy, but at the end of the day this is only the athlete’s job and there is so much more to them as humans. That’s why educating the future sports attorneys and athletes advocates is so important. We need everyone in the space to have more empathy toward the athletes and each other.”
“It was an opportunity of an lifetime that I absolutely couldnβt pass up,” Williams said. “When you look back on it I ended up choosing to play at Texas A&M because of the Aggie network and the benefit that it could bring me as a college athlete and as an alum. This class is an example of that in full effect. Obviously I was not able to monetize my NIL in college, however, I looked at my NIL as my reputation and made sure to leave a good impression when I declared for the NFL draft.
“Now, that paid off and I am able to capitalize on that reputation and this opportunity to teach wouldn’t have come up if my reputation was bad. But most importantly, a former Aggie, Alex Sinatra, used the Aggie network and reached out to me via Twitter direct message. I absolutely couldnβt say no when she offered for me to co-teach the course. Words canβt explain the amount of fun weβre having with our students exploring and navigating this new world of NIL as it meets law.”
“We are also getting the opportunity to engage through workshops with other law students and faculty. I’m the prime example of what the Aggie network can do for you. During my recruitment to play at A&M, the Aggie network was the biggest sell and the pitch is literally coming to life now.”
Professor Sinatra and Williams’ plans are to teach the class every spring and hopefully bring this class and others like it to other undergraduate and graduate programs.
