Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed an antitrust suit against the NCAA on Jan. 31 over its name, image and likeness licensing recruiting ban. Skermetti’s decision to sue came on the heels of the NCAA’s investigation into the University of Tennessee for NIL recruiting violations across multiple sports.
State representatives from both Tennessee and Virginia have brought the matter to the federal level in a joint lawsuit, alleging the NCAA’s name, image and likeness regulations violate federal antitrust law. Skrmetti strongly believes UT has been unfairly singled out in these allegations.
Skermetti thinks the NCAA is trying to get “payback” for the Vols avoiding a postseason ban in the sanctions given after the Jeremy Pruitt case. When explaining his idea of how unfairly Tennessee is being targeted, Skermetti brought up Georgia quarterback Carson Beck’s recent purchase of a Lamborghini Urus Performante. The car is valued upward of $270,000.
“This is a pick-and-choose situation as far as I can tell – where nobody bats an eye at a Georgia Lamborghini but anything that UT does appears to come under significant scrutiny because the school tried to defend the rights of its athletes when it was scrutinized before (in the Pruitt case).”
Georgia QB Carson Beck bought a $300K Lamborghini Urus 😳
That NIL money different.
(h/t @ThPlayersLounge) pic.twitter.com/Gc6NKo6jjT
— Overtime (@overtime) February 6, 2024
The NCAA is investigating UT for name, image and likeness violations in recruiting prior to enrollment. That’s not the case for Beck; he’s a rising senior.
This situation is still in the beginning stages, but it’s clear the state of Tennessee and the university aren’t going down without a fight — or reaching to find similarities among other programs that ultimately don’t hold weight.