As the issue of name, image, and likeness makes its way to a possible conclusion and regulation in the world of college athletes, the United States government is getting involved as the courts continue to sort out the issue.
Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville and former Alabama coach Nick Saban met with President Donald Trump to discuss possible NIL reform measures before Trump was set to deliver the commencement address at the University of Alabama.
Before that meeting, Tuberville spent his time in a radio interview 100.9’s “The Game with Ryan Fowler on Wednesday playing the blame game, aimed explicitly at Democrats.
‘I think we can get it on the floor, the problem is getting it past a Democrat group that really wants nothing to do with making this country better. They don’t care about college sports or education, they worry about the power that they control in this country. It’s a hard way to go, but if anybody can get it done, it’s President Trump, and hopefully we can have some discussion to get on the right track toward helping the NIL and college sports,’ Tuberville said.
Tuberville also had an issue with the transfer portal, which has run rampant in the past few years, where athletes can essentially switch schools every year without penalty.
“Everybody would be on the same level. We’ve got to come up with some rules for the transfer portal, possibly a contract for players,” Tuberville said. “We do not want to turn into minor league sports. I talked to (Auburn men’s basketball coach) Bruce Pearl a few weeks ago, he says it’s a disaster, absolute disaster in basketball, and I’m sure it goes over into football and some of the other sports.”