Fox Business panel: College athletes getting paid would detract from “love of sport” and “inflate their egos”
NCAA board issues new ruling that athletes can get paid for usage of their names and likenesses
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From October 29, 2019, edition of Fox Business' Cavuto: Coast to Coast
NEIL CAVUTO (HOST): All right, this could be a big deal. The NCAA will permit athletes to be compensated — this is the first time — for their names and images and likenesses. This is coming from the board of governors. Obviously, this opens what could be a floodgate of activity, not only in college basketball, but football. So what our panel makes of that right now — Lee Carter, John Lonski, Capri Cafaro. Capri, what do you think?
CAPRI CAFARO (DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST): I'm really torn on this issue, because obviously these athletes put a lot of time and effort, and you know, they bring in revenue in many instances to the university — because they are, you know, potentially on a winning team. At the same time, they are also oftentimes compensated already by being provided athletic scholarships as student athletes. So you know, there's going to be a lot of variation across the NCAA on this. And you know, I brought up the issue as well that, is this across all sports — is this for female athletes, as opposed to male athletes? How does Title IX play into this? I have no idea.
CAVUTO: What do you think?
LEE CARTER (REPUBLICAN POLLSTER): Listen, I think — I agree with all the things that you find complicating about it. But I also think that it changes the sport from a spectator, you know? From the point of we're rooting for these kids, from the point of not — this isn't about compensation or fame, this is about the love of sport and the love of your schools. And it changes —
CAVUTO: And popular sports at that, if it's baseball and basketball and football. But I don't know to the extent of lacrosse —
JOHN LONSKI (CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY'S CAPITAL MARKETS): Well, here's the problem. You're going to be compensated for your image, your likeness. So it depends upon how badly the media wants to capture your image or likeness. And I can't help but think that this is going to force some of these college athletes to inflate their egos quite dramatically —
CARTER: Even more.
CAVUTO: Even more.
LONSKI: It really puts people off. I can't really understand this here.
CAVUTO: I have no idea.
LONSKI: What the parameters are going to be.
CAVUTO: But apparently the staff said, “Neil, it's a big deal,” and I said, “OK, let's do it.”