NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley spoke up about politicians being involved in the new NIL deals. NCAA’s president Charlie Baker has plans to further the NIL deals with the help of Congress. This new system sees college athletes receive monetary benefits by signing up for NIL deals with colleges. This has led college athletes to sign endorsement deals and start earning. It may look good, but Barkley does not agree with the idea.
Barkley who is a TV analyst after retiring from the NBA took shots at the new NCAA president. Charlie Baker assumed the duties as the president of the NCAA on March 1, 2023. Chuck appeared on 60 Minutes, and he didn’t seem too happy with the proposal. “It’s a travesty and a disgrace. I’m so mad now how we can mess up something that’s so beautiful,” claimed Barkley.
“It’s a travesty and a disgrace… We can’t pay all these players… In the next 3-to-5 years, we’re going to have 25 schools that’s gonna dominate the sport because they can afford players. And these schools who can’t afford or won’t pay players are going pic.twitter.com/KzjWAh0RKN…
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 27, 2023
Barkley brought to light that the colleges won’t be able to financially afford all the players. This is bound to bring in a huge gap between financially strong colleges and those that aren’t. “We can’t pay all these players,” Barkley said. “In the next three to five years we’re gonna have 25 schools that’s gonna dominate the sports because they can afford players. And these schools who can’t afford, or won’t pay players, are gonna be irrelevant.” Barkley added.
There is truth in Barkley’s statement about schools turning irrelevant as they fail to get the best players. It is a strong change by the new NCAA president who is behind the new proposal.
Charles Barkley suggests a committee consisting of players and coaches
Charles Barkley didn’t stop there and didn’t like the idea of politicians getting involved in the sport of basketball. “Our politicians are awful people. … I would actually go to people who actually care about basketball,” Barkley admitted. The NCAA allowed student-athletes to earn money through their name, image, and likeness (NIL). However, it is different in every state, which has caused a lot of confusion regarding the rules.
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
There are coaches and players, who have actively dealt with such a situation. As pointed out by Barkley, “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,” Barkley claimed.
Charlie Baker’s idea of getting politicians involved is what didn’t sit well with Barkley. It will be interesting to see if the involvement of the political parties benefits college basketball or if Barkley is right about avoiding their help and figuring out a way of forming a uniform set of rules for all the colleges.
