Andrew Zimbalist, President of The Drake Group, issued the following statement regarding the request last month from The Drake Group to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (DOE/OCR) to provide guidance to institutions of higher education regarding involvement in college athlete NIL and other college athlete employment and compensation activities that could result in violation of Title IX athletics provisions:
“The Drake Group fully supports opportunities for college athletes to monetize their names, images, and likenesses (NILs) and otherwise be employed outside their educational institutions in the same manner enjoyed by non-athlete students. Equally important are efforts by institutions and certified agents to assist athletes in acquiring the financial skills and knowledge of tax and other obligations related to successful participation in commercial activities. Likewise, institutions of higher education must also be diligent in meeting their legal, ethical, and sports governance organization responsibilities related to sex discrimination.
While the monetization of athlete NILs and the creation of NIL collectives are new, the intertwinement of institutional and NIL collectives presents many uncertainties that increase the likelihood of Title IX violations. Even into the 50th anniversary of Title IX, most institutions have virtually ignored their Title IX obligations to equally support male and female athletes in publicity, promotion, recruiting, and athletics financial aid. That preferential treatment of male athletes continues when athletic directors and coaches openly ask NIL collectives to assist their athletic program recruiting efforts by providing NIL payments to prospective and current athletes and the operation of such recruiting collectives primarily benefits male athletes from a single institution.
Further, The Drake Group believes that the current NIL chaos can be resolved without new federal statutes or regulations. The DOE/OCR needs to reiterate existing guidance applied to the new NIL environment. The NCAA, in turn needs to resume enforcement of its defensible outside employment rules and prohibition against the involvement of representatives of athletics interests in recruiting.”
