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Congressman Anthony Gonzalez to Propose Federal Legislation for Paying College Athletes

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Weave77's picture
October 2, 2019 at 11:48am
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As reported by ESPN, former Ohio State receiver and current U.S. Congressman Anthony Gonzalez is planning on proposing federal legislation in the near future that would allow for all collegiate athletes in America to profit off of their own likenesses. 

I included below a couple of Gonzo's quotes from the article:

Gonzalez believes a federal law is the correct way to move forward.

"I actually think that we need to do something quickly, within the next year," Gonzalez told ESPN. "I don't think you have three years to figure this out. I think decisions will start happening immediately."

Gonzalez said he wants to create legislation that gives athletes the chance to make money while also setting up some way to protect athletes from potential bad actors.

"There are a lot of people who are trying to get a piece of the athlete who do not have their best interest in mind and are out for nefarious means," said Gonzalez, who was an All-Big Ten receiver at Ohio State before playing in the NFL for five years. "You can imagine a world where, if there were no guardrails in place, that it could get out of hand pretty quickly. That's the lane you're trying to carve. How do you do this to provide necessary and deserved benefits while not inviting a bigger problem alongside it?"

An important thing to note- Gonzalez said that the federal law would supersede all state laws (including California's) regarding collegiate athlete compensation, which he claims will help young athletes avoid confusion which trying to choose which university to attend.

Also, it sounds like Gonzo will be working closely with Gene Smith regarding his bill, with whom he has already had informal conversations on the subject, and he will wait until Smith/the NCAA make their recommendations regarding the California law before introducing it.

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