Bay Area
Fair Pay to Play Act: California Skeptical of NCAA Rule Changes
The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) highest governing body announced last week that it is moving toward allowing student-athletes to receive compensation for endorsements and promotions.
The NCAA’s Board of Governors says it now supports lifting longstanding restrictions on student-athletes that ban them from getting compensation for third-party endorsements both related to and separate from athletics. The new guidelines pave the way for college student athletes around the country to earn compensation without affecting their scholarship eligibility.
The board is also giving its consent for other student athlete compensation opportunities, such as social media promotions, business ventures they have launched and personal appearances. But colleges and universities still cannot give student athletes paychecks.
“Throughout our efforts to enhance support for college athletes, the NCAA has relied upon considerable feedback from, and the engagement of, our members, including numerous student-athletes, from all three divisions,” said Michael V. Drake, chair of the Board of Governors and president of Ohio State University.
California state Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), who is African American, co-authored and introduced legislation last year that will give student athletes in California the green light to earn money for endorsements and more while retaining their NCAA eligibility. Gov. Newsom signed the bill, Senate Bill 206 (SB 206), into law last fall. The first legislation of its kind in the United States, SB 206 will go into effect in January 2023.
“I commend the NCAA governing board for their decision to allow college athletes the opportunity to monetize their name, image and likeness through sponsorships and endorsements,” Bradford said. “This is an issue that has been long debated, and its time has come.”
Bradford and Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) co-authored SB 206, the Fair Pay to Play Act. Supporters of the policy say the California student-athlete law was the catalyst that put pressure on the NCAA.
In a conversation with California Black Media, Bradford expressed some lingering concerns about how the country’s premier college sports institution will roll out its plan by the 2021-2022 school year.
Bradford said, while he likes some changes the NCAA plans to implement, there are others he doesn’t care for, pointing out that a few key changes come with a litany of restraints.
“I’m not fond of the fact they are going to try to limit how much a student can make per year. I think that should be dictated by the market and not by the university,” he said.
In addition, Bradford says he has an issue with a proposal that would allow the NCAA to ask the U.S. Congress to side with colleges and universities in a decision that would reclassify student athletes as school employees.
“The NCAA adding the Congress equation to the issue,” Drake countered, “is to build a legal and legislative landscape that would not undermine college sports and to meet the needs of college athletes as they pursue a higher-education degree.
“We must continue to engage with Congress in order to secure the appropriate legal and legislative framework to modernize our rules around name, image and likeness,” Drake said. “We will do so in a way that underscores the Association’s mission to oversee and protect college athletics and college athletes.”
The changes also prevent student athletes from using schools’ team uniforms or logos for personal endorsements. These specific changes do not satisfy the student athletes’ needs, Bradford said.
Popular college student athletes say their schools often sell sports merchandise that bears the athletes’ names or likeness. Under the new NCAA rules, universities can still cash in on selling items such as jerseys.
“Some of these things are red flags to me,” Bradford told CBM.
The NCAA is also setting up rules to ensure that sports agents and other representatives do not influence high school prospects to choose a school because it offers them prime benefits.
But the athletes can hire sports agents and attorneys.
“To be able to hire an agent or lawyer apart from the universities are good guidelines because we don’t want any conflicts between what might be university involvement and enticing an athlete to attend,” Bradford said.
Since California laid the groundwork for other states to draft legislation similar to SB 206, New York, Illinois, Florida, and up to 10 other states have introduced their versions of “Fair Pay For Play” laws.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
Bay Area
State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
By Carla Thomas
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco.
The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.
ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.
“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.
More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.
Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.
“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.
“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.
“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.
By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”
Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”
Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.
“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”
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