In the News

July 3, 2021

“The Supreme Court’s ruling basically told the NCAA you’ve got to follow the law, you’re not immune to antitrust, you cannot be a monopoly,” said state Sen. Nancy Skinner, the author of the Fair Pay to Play Act,  which passed the California Legislature in 2019. She’s now pushing a bill that amends the law to take effect Sept. 1, rather than in 2023. It passed the Assembly’s higher education committee this week, and would need to receive a two-thirds vote by the Assembly and be signed by the governor to become law.

 

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July 2, 2021

In the days leading up to the 2015 “Big Game,” a Cal alum invited a Stanford grad to lead a discussion on college sports that would go far beyond their football rivalry.

Nancy Skinner did not know that Andy Schwarz’s agreeing to speak at this Oakland Rotary Club luncheon would spark a national insurrection against the NCAA, but she did know that Schwarz, an economist specializing in antitrust issues, was on her side.

“I am clear that college athletes should be compensated,” Skinner wrote to Schwarz.

 

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July 1, 2021

“You know, I’m basically a social-justice advocate who became a legislator,” Sen. Skinner said Tuesday in an interview across from the state capitol as the total of states enacting similar laws ballooned toward 20 and counting. “And so when it comes to exploitation, whether it’s exploitation of athletes or whoever it is, you know, it’s in my DNA to basically try to right that.”

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July 1, 2021

"Well, the NCAA finally threw in the towel. It's a true victory for student-athletes, who've been exploited for decades," said California Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley).   "This isn't just about the really, you know, high-achieving basketball or football players. It's for anyone, the swimmer, the volleyball player, the wrestler, all can benefit from this."

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July 1, 2021

"I'm thrilled," Sen. Skinner said. "This is a true victory for student-athletes, college athletes that have been exploited for decades, so I feel really proud that California had a significant role. We kick-started this effort, 22 states followed us and what was the NCAA to do? So they finally threw in the towel."

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June 30, 2021

The organization, which encompasses 350 Division I colleges and universities that play intercollegiate sports, had its hand forced by California’s Fair Pay to Play Act of 2019. That law, carried by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, was the first in the country to allow student athletes to profit off their names and images, and 22 other states have since done the same.

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