Newly hired NCAA Exec VP/Regulatory Affairs Oliver Luck on Thursday said that he believes college athletes "should be paid for the use of their likeness," a position that "favors changing college sports in the very way that the organization has spent years fighting in court," according to Sharon Terlep of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. This "isn't the first time" Luck has expressed this opinion. But "now he is saying it from a much higher perch." Luck said of paying players for the use of their likeness, "I may have misspoken when I said it was a constitutional right. It’s more of a fundamental right. I’m looking forward to having a longer dialogue on this with (NCAA president Mark Emmert)." Luck said that he and Emmert "didn’t specifically discuss the topic in conversations leading up to his taking the job." He added that there is "a good chance the issue 'will be decided by a federal judge, perhaps at the Supreme Court level, and what we believe may not be of consequence'" (WSJ.com, 12/18). In Indianapolis, Autumn Allison writes Luck "has a clear goal for his new job with the NCAA: to build more trust and confidence in the organization and its members." Luck: "Certainly an institution of this size has some warts, or a soft underbelly if you will, but I certainly think this is absolutely something worth fighting for." Allison notes Luck "envisions his own role as clearly explaining the institution's decisions and answering why it was made within the organization's framework." Luck said that additional attention "will be directed toward Olympic sports at the collegiate level" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 12/19).
