California joins fight

Battle lines being drawn in push for reform on NCAA

This isn’t just a political ruckus in Nebraska anymore.

In the latest move aimed at forcing reform on the NCAA, student athletes’ bill of rights legislation was introduced Wednesday in the California state legislature, beginning what figures to be a drawn-out political battle.

The bill, co-authored by Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles) and Senate Majority Leader John Burton (D-San Francisco), would prohibit California universities from adhering to NCAA rules that are perceived to limit the rights of athletes. If approved, the law would, among other things, allow athletes the opportunity to earn income off their name, hire an agent to help decide if they should enter a pro draft and transfer if a coach is fired or his actions land a school on probation.

The Nebraska legislature is debating a proposal to pay college athletes, but it has very little chance of passage and was introduced solely as a bid to get the NCAA to liberalize its position. The California bill should be taken more seriously, in part because the state is home to 17,000 college athletes and seven Division I-A schools, including Southern Cal, UCLA and Stanford.

Its sponsors are banking they can pressure the NCAA because of the importance of the California schools in helping fulfill the governing body’s billion-dollar television deals.

"Either the NCAA changes its rules or our schools would not be allowed to be part of the NCAA," said Murray, a former talent agent with the William Morris Agency. "What I didn’t want to do is mandate that schools provide some things, because each school has its own budgetary issues and can decide to have football or not have football. But I suspect many of the schools would like to do more for their students if the NCAA allowed, particularly regarding this whole thing of one-year renewable scholarships.

"Again, we are not demanding that the students be treated in some special way because they are athletes. But they actually are treated harsher than if they had academic scholarships. If you are a physics major or music, there is no limit on what somebody can give you. There are also no limits on outside income. If you are drama major and you get a couple weeks on a soap opera, they say, 'Go for it.'

"The idea that a skier like Jeremy Bloom [who also plays football at Colorado] can’t receive endorsement income is just ludicrous. None of his notoriety came from football. And nobody who is going to buy the skis he wanted to endorse gives a damn if he’s on the football team."

NCAA leaders were grilled on their position at a subcommittee hearing earlier this month in Sacramento. Murray believes the legislation has a legitimate shot at passage, with the primary opposition expected to come from the NCAA itself and perhaps some college presidents.

"The schools would argue that, 'Oh, we are providing an education' -- which they are really not, because they’re only giving you one year on a see-what-happens basis," Murray said. "And they also say, 'If you don’t want to live like this, then go pro.' Well, you don’t say that to the coach. It’s OK for the coach to have a TV deal or endorsement deal. I don’t begrudge the coach, but the player should have some opportunities."

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