It's time to change the rules of the game! Demand that your Congressmembers guarantee fair pay for student-athletes in every state!
WE DID IT! Last Monday, after more than 20,000 petition signatures, 3 billboards, and 10,000 combined letters and phone calls made by Color Of Change members, California’s governor signed the Fair Pay to Play Act into law. Finally, after decades of being exploited, student-athletes in California have the opportunity to make money from endorsements, hire agents, and earn profits from their own names, images, and likenesses. This historic law is a major step forward in our fight against the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) “amateurism” policy, which disproportionately exploits Black players.
But while the Fair Pay to Play Act has opened the doors for economic opportunity in California, student-athletes in the other 49 states and Washington, D.C. will continue being exploited, unless this legislation becomes federal law. Several states, including New York and South Carolina, are already looking to pass similar laws.1 But the NCAA is still aggressively fighting to maintain full control of the student-athletes they call amateur players. They are using scare tactics and threatening to ban schools from competitions to prevent states from enacting similar laws. So we need to pressure Congress to make fair pay the standard for college athletes in every state.
Demand that the U.S. Congress guarantee fair pay for college athletes in every state.
Passing the Fair Pay to Play Act in California is the beginning of a national movement for fairness in collegiate sports, and will hopefully mark the end of the NCAA’s stranglehold on the wealth created by student-athletes. This movement transcends geographic and partisan lines - even Republicans like North Carolina Representative Warner think the NCAA has gone too far in their exploitation. He recently introduced a bill in Congress, the Student-Athlete Equity Act (HR 1804), which would strip the NCAA of their tax-exempt status unless they begin allowing athletes to profit off their likenesses.2 Building on the momentum from California, we now have the opportunity to force open the doors of economic opportunity for Black student-athletes across the country.
By passing a federal law, we can force an end to the NCAA’s long exploitation of Black student-athletes and usher in a new golden era of collegiate sports. By opening the door to fair pay, we can empower Black student-athletes to better navigate the balancing act of college sports, honoring the demands of their team while staying on top of schoolwork. It’s time to change the rules of the game and allow student-athletes to cash in on their hard work. It’s time to #PayThePlayers.
Demand that your Congressmembers guarantee fair pay for student-athletes!
Until justice is real,
Jade, Rashad, Arisha, Johnny, Evan, Future, Amanda, Eesha, Samantha, Marcus, FolaSade and the rest of the Color of Change team
References: 1. “What's Next After California Signs Game Changer Fair Pay to Play Act into Law?,” Sports Illustrated, September 30, 2019, 2. “Student-Athlete Equity Act Would End NCAA’s Tax-exempt Status Unless They Allow Athletes to Profit,” Medium, June 5, 2019,
https://act.colorofchange.org/go/196862?t=9&akid=37089%2E4731121%2E3Ll-mF
https://act.colorofchange.org/go/196863?t=11&akid=37089%2E4731121%2E3Ll-mF
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