Senate Minority Floor Leader Morgan McGarvey on his support of Senate Bill 6 saying, “The NCAA should have handled this, they didn’t. Congress should have handled this they haven’t. It’s up to us.”
SB 6 which is sponsored by Senator Max Wise sets the legal guidance which he says protects student athletes foremost, but also makes it clear what the colleges or universities they play for can and cannot do.
Before the vote, lawmakers also heard from UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart who told them at least 250 student athletes at UK have already secured Name, Image and Likeness deals since the Supreme Court ruling last July that allowed student athletes to profit off their NIL. Coach John Calipari believes this shift could keep some student athletes in college and on their teams longer.
“The ones I worry about are the ones I say are you sure? ‘Coach I have to do this.’ You talk to the parents, are you sure? I think this would have people saying if I’m not ready…and let me say this,” Calipari continued “maybe a young man that could be drafted in the top ten and he says ‘but I’m not ready, but I have to go.’ But now it’s no you don’t. No, you don’t.”
Soon after the Supreme Court ruling, Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order so that student athletes could begin profiting off their name, image, and likeness. But executive orders can come and go. Lawmakers agreed and moved SB6 forward unanimously. The bill does have some caveats. Universities cannot use NIL to recruit, and student athletes cannot endorse anything illegal or that deals with gambling or adult entertainment.
