Oscar Tshiebwe is taking his quest for equal name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights for foreign students to Washington. According to Matt Jones, Kentucky’s big man met with Mitch McConnell and Joe and Kelly Craft today in hopes of persuading the Senator to join the fight for new federal legislation regarding players on F-1/student visas.
Under the current law, international student-athletes like Oscar cannot “work,” meaning they cannot do commercials, photoshoots, paid public appearances, autograph tours, etc. to enjoy the full benefits of their name, image, and likeness. Oscar and his team of agents and advocates have found ways for him to earn money off his likeness, like his line of merchandise with Kentucky Branded, but until the law changes or there is clarity from the Department of Homeland Security on what foreign students may do, he’s only making a fraction of what he could.