Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sends strong message to student athletes
Arguments were heard on Tuesday in Greeneville, TN for the preliminary injunction request in the state of Tennessee's NIL-related lawsuit against the NCAA. A ruling on the preliminary injunction hasn't been handed down yet, but it could come quickly. After the hearing, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sent a strong message to student athletes via […]
Arguments were heard on Tuesday in Greeneville, TN for the preliminary injunction request in the state of Tennessee's NIL-related lawsuit against the NCAA.
A ruling on the preliminary injunction hasn't been handed down yet, but it could come quickly.
After the hearing, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sent a strong message to student athletes via social media.
"It's a wonderful day to fight on behalf of our student-athletes in Tennessee; they are the backbone of college sports," wrote Skrmetti. "Due to the NCAA's arbitrary and illegal rules, student-athletes are being harmed and prevented from making important decisions concerning their name, image, and likeness rights – which may have a big impact on their academic and financial futures. Meanwhile, everybody else involved in college sports is getting rich at those student-athletes' expense. That is not legal, not right and it needs to change. Antitrust law in this area is clear, and as the Court has previously said, our case is likely to succeed on the merits. We are happy with the case's progression and look forward to litigating it fully if necessary."
There's no doubt where the state of Tennessee stands when it comes to NIL deals for student-athletes — they're all for the players' ability to negotiate deals before enrolling at a college.
And because of that stance, college sports could be changing forever in the not-so-distant future. Pay for play may finally be legal across all college sports if the state of Tennessee's lawsuit against the NCAA is successful.
Former Tennessee Vols assistant leaves SEC rival just weeks after getting hired
Tough break for one of the Vols’ biggest rivals
