Why politicians are ramping up pressure on NCAA after Tennessee NIL case

As the legal battles mount for the NCAA, another one appears to be brewing on Capitol Hill. Tuesday, two Senators – Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) – reintroduced the NCAA Accountability Act in a decision that comes amid the fallout of the investigation into Tennessee.

It’s the latest challenge against the NCAA after news broke of the inquiry last week. Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman initially responded with a scathing letter to President Charlie Baker. Then, the attorneys general in Tennessee and Virginia filed suit last week against the organization arguing it cannot restrict NIL when it comes to high school recruiting. However, a judge denied a temporary restraining order on Tuesday.

The decision to reintroduce the March 2022 bill, with a lawmaker from Tennessee at the center of the process, was the latest chapter in the response to the investigation. To On3’s Andy Staples, it’s the flip-side of the NCAA’s efforts to get federal NIL legislation passed.

“I think we all understand here – and I’ve said this many times, and I’m going to say this about this bill, too – when the commissioners are trying to get Congress to create an NIL bill, to give them ‘guardrails,’ all they were doing was trying to turn back the clock, screw the athletes some more,” Staples said on Andy Staples On3. “I said, don’t get the government involved in your business. Solve your own problems. Getting the government involved in your business is trouble. It will cause you bigger headaches down the road. Don’t get the government involved in your business.

“This is the government involved in their business because they’re mad about something the business is doing. This is what you’ve invited by all this lobbying and saying, ‘Well, Congress will save us.’ Told you. You don’t want Congress telling you how to run your business. You don’t.” So this is bad, what the commissioners wanted was bad. You don’t want it. Go solve your own problems.”

What to make of the NCAA’s decision to go after ‘big schools’

Tennessee isn’t the only school to find itself under investigation for alleged NIL violations. Florida State received multiple punishments last month, including a three-game suspension for Alex Atkins. Florida is also dealing with an inquiry into the recruitment of Jaden Rashada.

That means the NCAA looked into three schools in recent months. Then, last week, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti announced a new joint advisory group. The purpose of the venture is to address “significant challenges” facing college sports. However, it’s also a possible landmark moment as the landscape evolves.

If the NCAA keeps going after “big schools,” it could paint a dark picture for its future.

“I don’t know who at the NCAA decided this was a good idea,” Staples said. “‘Let’s go after some big schools.’ All you’re doing is hastening the demise of the NCAA as we know it. Now again, Greg Sankey, and Tony Petitti – the SEC and Big Ten commissioners – they’re the guys who will eventually remake how all this is done. They can remake it under the guise of the NCAA or under the auspices of the NCAA. They don’t have to, though.

“And all the people that have jobs right now that are getting paid very well at the NCAA, they might not be because they’re part of the problem right now. And again, the decision to target big schools, to enforce the NIL rules and then to say, ‘Well, coaches wanted this.’ Read the room. If all the collectives are attached to all the schools are doing the same thing, the coaches don’t actually want you to enforce the rules. Read the room. Very, very poor job of reading the room by the NCAA.”