10.11.23

ICYMI: ESPN: NCAA President, Big Ten Commissioner to Testify at Senate Judiciary Hearing on Name, Image, And Likeness Rights

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, ESPN highlighted yesterday’s announcement that the Senate Judiciary Committee will be holding a full committee hearing on name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights in college sports on Tuesday, October 17th at 10:00 AM ET.

This hearing will examine different federal NIL legislative proposals, seek to establish what is truly in the best interests of students participating in college athletics, and feature testimony from NCAA President Charlie Baker and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Pettiti, among others to be announced.

Read excerpts below or the full article here.

ESPN: NCAA president Charlie Baker set to testify before Congress

Dan Murphy, October 10, 2023

“NCAA president Charlie Baker and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti are scheduled to testify at a Senate hearing about the future of college sports next week.”

“Baker and many other college sports administrators have asked Congress to write a new federal law that would allow the NCAA to regulate how athletes make money and protect the association from what has been a steady and successful onslaught of legal challenges to its business model.”

“Next week's hearing hosted by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Oct. 17 will mark the 10th time college sports leaders have been called to Capitol Hill since 2020.”

“The NCAA and its members have asked Congress to create uniform rules forhow athletes can sell their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights. They have also asked for a new law codifying that college athletes are not employees of their schools and one that would give the schools some protection from antitrust lawsuits. Both those requests have the potential to stymie current legal battles in federal court and in front of the National Labor Relations Board.”

“A bill about NIL rights would first have to go through the Senate Commerce Committee, but the judiciary committee would have some influence on how it's shaped. The judiciary committee has jurisdiction over antitrust law issues and intellectual property rights.”

###