Charles Barkley really wants the government to stay away from college sports and particularly from rules that allow players to profit off of their name, image and likeness.
In a spot of CBS Sports’ March Madness coverage Thursday night, the former NBA great unleashed after he heard new NCAA president Charlie Baker say he would like the federal government to weigh in on NIL deals for college athletes.
Baker, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, has served as the NCAA’s president since earlier this month.
In regard to setting uniform standards for NIL deals, Baker told CBS Sports he wants more uniformity in how contracts are structured.
He told network hosts Greg Gumbel and Clark Kellogg he would “love to create transparency and accountability” around NIL contracts to educate those looking to make deals.
Baker said he plans to speak with lawmakers about potentially getting the federal government involved.
“We’re gonna talk some with the folks in Washington about this,” Baker said during his interview.
The NCAA began allowing athletes to profit off of their names in 2021. States and schools have different regulations on how such deals can be structured, but there is currently no national legislation.
Barkley was played a portion of Baker’s interview on Thursday night and was obviously displeased by the NCAA head’s remarks.
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He unloaded.
“Did he say we gonna ask the politicians to help us?” Barkley asked. “See, that pisses me off already.
“Our politicians are awful people,” He continued. “As I talked to Clark earlier … I would actually go to people who actually care about basketball, not looking at it just in terms – I would put a committee together. I would love for Clark to be on the committee, get some coaches, get some players, and let’s try to work this thing out.”
New NCAA President (and former Governor of Massachusetts) Charlie Baker says he wants “consumer protections” around NIL, saying he’s “gonna talk some with the folks in Washington.”
Charles Barkley responded, as only he can. pic.twitter.com/w1XURZ0sEm
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 24, 2023
Barkley concluded, “We can’t ask these politicians nothing. Those people are awful people. Democrats and Republicans, they’re all crooks.”
A lot of people rightly feel NIL deals are ruining college sports and have been detrimental to football and basketball.
Between the NIL deals and the transfer portal, players — many of them who are teenagers — are jumping around from team to team and making millions of dollars in the process.
These people are adults, and a valid argument can be made that they deserve to be compensated. It is definitely a nuanced issue.
But it’s difficult not to agree with Barkley on his argument that Washington needs to stay out of it. Oftentimes, it appears the only thing Congress knows how to do is pay itself more money while the country takes on more debt.
That’s not to say there aren’t some good people in D.C. working on behalf of their constituents.
But Barkley doesn’t trust the government, and why should he?
