Walker in March introduced federal legislation to allow college athletes to make money off their NILGETTY IMAGES
The White House is "meeting with congressional offices as it considers a response" to California's NIL law, according to Murphy & Chambers of the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER. White House Domestic Policy Council Dir Joe Grogan said, "We had been having discussions even before the California law, but the California law has created some new complications for a lot of people." He added, "Exactly a course or direction, we haven't settled on one yet, but we are having discussions with the Hill." The White House also has "been in touch" with staff from U.S. Rep. Mark Walker's (R-N.C.) office. Walker in March "introduced federal legislation to allow players to make money off their name and image while in school." President Trump has "not taken a public position" on college athletes' compensation. State and federal lawmakers have been "applying pressure to the NCAA" over letting college athletes "receive more compensation as revenues continue to rise." Walker has called it a "civil rights issue and decried that college athletes are not entitled to the same rights as other Americans" when it comes to NIL. He is "not the only lawmaker interested in the issue." U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) issued a "stern warning to the NCAA in October," telling it that Congress was "prepared to act." U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said that he, Romney and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) have been "meeting to discuss possible legislation" that could go beyond NIL (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 11/12).
THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY: USA TODAY's Dan Wolken writes the political environment around the rights of college athletes "shifted completely in a matter of a few months." An issue that has been "largely kept on the margins" has been "suddenly activated as a key legislative priority in California with the Fair Pay to Play Act, spreading to other state legislatures that introduced similar bills and renewed interest at the federal level that could lead to legislation in the near future." Walker said, "It wasn't until California passed it in their state legislature that this thing, I mean, it's like lighting a fuse." Wolken writes whereas the NCAA "might have hoped early on that California was a one-off, this issue has resonated with both Democrat and Republican legislators in a diverse group of states." While bills have already been "proposed in Illinois, Florida, Washington and Colorado, at least 10 more are likely to jump on board in the coming weeks." It is "unlikely that so many politicians would pursue this if it was a wildly unpopular idea" (USA TODAY, 11/12).
