Bernie Sanders Calls For College Athletes To Be Paid

Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders believes college athletes "should be paid, weighing in for the first time on a controversial issue that's roiling the NCAA and college sports," according to Lauren Camera of U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT. Sanders on Friday tweeted, "College athletes are workers. Pay them." That was in response to LeBron James' attempt to rally support for California's "Fair Pay to Play" Act. That bill, which currently is before the California Assembly, would allow student athletes "to earn compensation in connection with the use" of their name, image and likeness. Sanders is "far from the first member of Congress to call for paying college athletes." U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) in March published a report "in which he argued the NCAA is broken and that paying athletes is both a labor fairness and civil rights issue" (USNEWS.com, 9/6).