WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on Thursday released the following statement as state laws around Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) go into effect in states across the country:

“Giving athletes the ability to make money off their talent is long overdue. The exploitative system is finally crumbling, as we saw in the unanimous SCOTUS ruling in NCAA v Alston, and college athletes will be better off for it.” said Murphy. “It’s important we see how these laws play out in practice, and if Congress does eventually act, we need to make sure we are expanding athletes’ rights, including the ability to make money off their Name, Image and Likeness without strings attached. I have legislation to do just that.”

Murphy has been an outspoken advocate on the issue of reforming college sports. Last week, Murphy praised the unanimous Supreme Court ruling in NCAA v Alston. In March, Murphy issued a statement after the Supreme Court heard NCAA v Alston. Most recently, Murphy along with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the College Athlete Right to Organize Act, legislation to provide collective bargaining rights for college athletes. Senator Murphy also wrote the College Athlete Economic Freedom Act with Rep. Lori Trahan, which grants unrestricted rights to college athletes over the use of their name, image, and likeness.

Murphy was also one of the first members of Congress talking about the need to fairly compensate athletes. In 2019, Murphy released a series of three reports, Madness Inc., which detailed a range of problems within college athletics. 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. Murphy’s second report examined the ways in which colleges fail in providing athletes the education they deserve. And Murphy’s third 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.

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