By Ava Burchell, Staff Writer
(Photo provided).
On Feb. 2 at noon, the Eisenhower Institute hosted the Vice President of Government Relations and General Council at the Consortium of Universities in the Metropolitan Area Mondi Kumbula-Fraser. She addressed the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) policy in college athletics and explained that athletes can use their NIL to make money through sponsorships with companies.
“You’re primarily talking about merchandise, endorsements, event appearances, social media appearances, and it basically changed the game and changed the landscape. I personally call it the Wild Wild West because it’s a brand-new area of the law,” said Kumbula-Fraser.
She reiterated this comparison to the Wild Wild West throughout her talk. Since this is a new policy, many colleges do not have the staff to ensure that students are representing themselves appropriately and are being fairly compensated by their sponsors.
Kumbula-Fraser explained that the relatively new NIL policy disproportionately impacts women. The deals offered to female athletes are far less valuable than for male athletes. Female athletes also may be forced to wear specific clothing or present themselves in a certain way. These demands put women at risk of being sexualized. In turn, as photos and videos are posted to the internet, they may impact potential job offers in a corporate environment.
In addition, the NIL policy is hard for student-athletes to manage without an agent. Agents are hesitant to help student-athletes because they will not make enough profit off the deals. Without an agent, many students of low socioeconomic status are taken advantage of by their sponsors.
“When we have other students who are similarly talented who are just taking $50 and a pizza for the week because they don’t know their worth, and they’re hungry and are willing to take whatever they can get,” said Kumbula-Fraser.
Kumbula-Fraser concluded her talk with an audience discussion about a federal policy she is spearheading to increase the fairness of student-athlete NIL deals. This policy would include education for student-athletes about financial literacy and tax planning, a reporting requirement for students’ NIL deals, and a restriction on representation in sin categories like drugs, alcohol and gaming.
The lecture was attended by students, faculty members, and coaches. It was part of the Eisenhower Institute’s initiative to bring a speaker per month to campus for “Lunch and Learn Lectures.”
Eisenhower Institute Executive Director Tracie Potts said, “During this year, the whole idea is to bring very interesting people to campus to talk about very interesting topics that are related to policy.”
