Mark Emmert called for a delay on the NCAA's D-I Council voting on NIL legislationGETTY IMAGES
North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham said it "probably makes sense" for the NCAA's D-I Council to "pause where we are" as it relates to voting on NIL legislation, according to Berkowitz, Brennan and Wolken of USA TODAY. The council had been expected to vote today on NIL, but NCAA President Mark Emmert called on the council to delay its vote. Cunningham said, "What’s happening nationally with the Supreme Court, with Congress, all of those are related. It forces somewhat of an alignment or forces a discussion about how we’re going to move forward." Cunningham: "Start with the highest authority -- the Supreme Court -- and work your way back toward more local decision-making" (USA TODAY, 1/10).
THE BACKSTORY: In N.Y., Alan Blinder noted the DOJ in a letter on Friday warned Emmert that the government "wanted to ensure that any NCAA rules 'will allow college athletes to benefit from robust competition for their talents.'" Emmert in a letter to the DOJ on Saturday said that he had “'strongly recommended' that the association’s governing bodies wait, effectively stepping back from pledges to lawmakers and others that college sports leaders would act this winter on the issue." Emmert wrote, "Whenever we consider revisions to the rules ... we of course receive input from many interested parties, and we welcome your invitation to consult with the department so that we can hear and fully understand its views as well.” Emmert Saturday night said, “We were right on the cusp of making some really, really important changes to provide some much-needed flexibility and, all of a sudden, now we’ve got to pause." Emmert still "vowed that the NCAA would ultimately change its rules" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/10). The NIL reform "has been in the NCAA's legislative pipeline for more than year" (AP, 1/9).
DOJ CONCERNED ABOUT ANTITRUST COMPLIANCE: USA TODAY's Berkowitz, Brennan & Wolken noted Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim in response to Emmert's letter "offered a sharply worded" reply on Saturday night in which he "not only appeared to take issue with Emmert’s assessment of the association’s antitrust compliance, but also raised the issue of how that situation impacts athletes of color and from challenging socio-economic circumstances." Delrahim "seemed to criticize the NCAA not for delaying a vote on the current transfer and name, image and likeness rules proposals, but for not developing proposals that would allow the NCAA to comply with antitrust law" (USA TODAY, 1/10).
WHERE THINGS STAND: In L.A., J. Brady McCullough wrote Emmert and the NCAA "took an educated risk in bringing their problems to Washington, but their calculations had to have assumed Republicans would at least maintain control over the Senate." Now, the College Athlete Bill of Rights -- which aims to guarantee athletes medical care beyond graduation, lifetime scholarships to complete their education and a 50% revenue sharing requirement for programs that make a profit -- will be "pushed hard by the Democratic caucus." The NCAA "can’t repeal its request for a federal fix." Congress is "firmly invested, just not in the way the association wants it to be" (L.A. TIMES, 1/10).
