Isaiah Livers of Michigan, Geo Baker of Rutgers and Jordan Bohannon of Iowa were among the college basketball players pushing for NCAA reforms on social media Wednesday, the day before the tournament tips off.
With the hashtag #NotNCAAProperty, players pushed for the association to permit college athletes to earn money for things like sponsorship deals, online endorsement and personal appearances.
“The NCAA OWNS my name image and likeness,” Baker tweeted. “Someone on music scholarship can profit from an album. Someone on academic scholarship can have a tutor service. For ppl who say “an athletic scholarship is enough.” Anything less than equal rights is never enough. I am #NotNCAAProperty”
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament starts Thursday with four games. Because of the pandemic, the entire tournament is being played in Indiana, with all 68 teams staying in Indianapolis in what the NCAA has described as a “controlled environment.”
The NCAA is in the process of changing its longstanding rules to allow athletes to profit from their names, images and likenesses. But those efforts have bogged down since the start of 2021.
The NCAA was scheduled to vote on NIL legislation in January, but that was delayed after a letter from the Justice Department warned the proposed changes could violate antitrust laws. Now the DOJ is backing plaintiffs against the NCAA in a case that will be heard by the Supreme Court, further complicating the situation for the NCAA.
Earlier this week, NCAA President Mark Emmert told The Associated Press that he was frustrated by the delay in NIL reform and hoped that rules would be in place for the start of the next fall semester as was originally intended.
But there is a good chance the gridlock doesn’t let up until after the Supreme Court hands down a decision.
Livers, the second leading scorer for top-seeded Michigan, simply Tweeted: “I am #NotNCAAProperty”
Bohannon has been a vocal proponent for NCAA reforms that give athletes more rights. Earlier this year he was among several college athletes in Iowa to publicly back the state legislature’s NIL bill.
“It’s been far too long,” he tweeted. “Time for our voices to be heard. #NotNCAAProperty”
