California is close to passing a law that would return to athletes what the NCAA unjustly stole: the rights to their own names, images, and likenesses. One’s name and face are what some people might call a birthright. But in the eyes of the NCAA, college athletes don’t have birthrights; they’re serfs. NCAA President Mark Emmert, the Lord High of the Carillon Towers, has suggested all of California’s postseason competition could be jeopardized if the state allows an athlete to make a profit from his or her own name, picture or signature.
On Tuesday the California state assembly is scheduled to hold a hearing and a vote on the bill, "SB-206, Collegiate athletics: Fair Pay to Play Act.