WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on Wednesday published an op-ed in Yahoo Sports on the ways in which COVID-19 have exposed the inherent inequities in college sports and lays out the legislative ideas to allow for college athletes to make money off their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), as well as provide collective bargaining rights for college athletes.

“If colleges are going to treat their athletes as commodities, then it’s time for the law to catch up,” Murphy wrote. “As we begin a new Congress and a new era of Democratic control in Washington, now is the time to finally address the long-standing inequities that have been endemic in college sports. Doing so will require not just an expansion of economic rights of college athletes, but a wholesale overhaul of the bargaining rights that the NCAA has long-denied in the name of ‘amateurism.’”

Murphy continued: “First, we need to lift restrictions on how college athletes make money off their own name, image, and likeness. It’s crazy that Nick Saban can make millions by appearing in non-stop Aflac commercials, but if his star players did the same, they would be banned from college sports. I’ll be introducing legislation that gives college athletes the right to make money off their talent, and I won’t support legislation that puts the NCAA in charge of regulating this right.”

“Second, we need to finally recognize athletes for who they really are: employees. A model that respects college athletes also means ensuring they can receive a fair share of the revenues they generate and finally have the baseline academic and health protections the NCAA has denied them. To get there, college athletes need collective bargaining rights, and this Spring I will introduce a second bill that grants athletes these rights,” Murphy wrote.

Murphy concluded: “With Democratic control in the Senate, House, and the White House, Congress now has a chance to finally recognize the professionalization of college sports by opening up the endorsement rights of athletes as well as asserting their right to organize. In doing so, we’ll address a civil rights crisis that has existed for far too long. We can’t waste this opportunity.”

You can read the op-ed in full here.

Murphy has been an outspoken advocate on the issue of reforming college sports. Last year, Murphy and Golden State Warriors player Draymond Green co-authored an op-ed for ESPN on how college sports must change following the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide protests for racial justice. Last December, Murphy released his third and final report in a series of reports that considered the range of problems within college athletics. The report, “Madness, Inc.: How College Sports Leave Athletes Broken and Abandoned,” examines the ways in which colleges and the NCAA neglect athletes’ health and received praise from players and advocates across the college athletics community. Murphy’s first Madness, Inc. report examined the billions in revenues produced by college sports and how that money enriches nearly everyone but the athletes themselves. Coaches, former athletes, and advocates have spoken out in support of Murphy’s first report. Murphy’s second report examined the ways in which colleges fail in providing athletes the education they deserve. This report similarly received praise from coaches, former athletes and advocates. Murphy is also part of the College Athlete Bill of Rights, a landmark proposal that would guarantee fair and equitable compensation, enforceable safety standards, and improved education outcomes for all college athletes.

###