State Senator Joseph Lagana, Assemblywoman Lisa Swain and Assemblyman Christopher Tully applauded on Wednesday a recent announcement by ten United States senators that they plan to introduce a college athletes bill of rights in Congress. In July, the New Jersey legislature passed these legislators’ own bill (A-2106/S-971) called the ‘New Jersey Fair Play Act.’
Among other stipulations, the federal legislation would allow college players to profit off their own name, image and likeness (NIL) as well as enter into group licensing deals. Senate sponsors include Cory Booker (D-N.J.), former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).
In response to the announcement, legislators Lagana, Swain and Tully (all D-Bergen, Passaic) issued the following joint statement:
“We applaud New Jersey’s own Senator Cory Booker and his colleagues for joining the fight to protect the rights of college athletes nationally, just like our bill would do in New Jersey.
“The piece of legislation announced by Senator Booker, along with other Senators such as Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders, is similar to our ‘New Jersey Fair Play Act’ which would allow college-level student-athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image or likeness. At the Congressional level, this legislation would extend those rights to every state while providing additional protections and permissions.
“It is only fair that students who generate massive amounts of revenue for schools and offer entertainment to countless fans while also getting a college education be able to benefit from their own hard work and talent.
“We look forward to continuing to advocate on behalf of New Jersey’s student-athletes as these senators advocate for the rights of student-athletes throughout the country.”