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Schoenfeld, Bruce. “Student. Athlete. Mogul?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Jan. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/magazine/ncaa-nba-student-athlete/.

SDS “Charles Barkley Shares What ‘scares’ Him about Nil Era of College Sports.” Saturday Down South, 4 July 2021, www.saturdaydownsouth.com/auburn-football/charles-barkley-shares-what-scares-him-about-nil-era-of-college-sports/.

Sprung, Shlomo. “Bronny James Is the Early 2024 Nil King.” Boardroom, 28 June 2023, boardroom.tv/bronny-james-nil-valuation-nba-draft/.

Solomon, Beth D., et al. “Who Is Nil Leaving out? Challenges and Solutions for International Student-Athletes.” Sports Innovation Journal, 29 Aug. 2022, journals.iupui.edu/index.php/sij/article/view/26058.

Fletcher, Mason. “As an International Student Athlete I Am Unable to Get Access to Any Nil Money so I’ve Decided That All Profits from Purchases of Anything in My Name Will Go to All Our Walk-Ons on Our Football Team! This Will Hopefully Give Some Financial Help to These Guys That Give Their All. Pic.Twitter.Com/Xtrig6eh6t.” Twitter, Twitter, 16 Sept. 2022, twitter.com/MasonFletcher19/status/1570788450126929921?s=20.

Moore, Jim. “Transfers and Top-Dollar Recruiting Are Changing the Sport in a Way I Don’t Like.” Kitsap Sun, Kitsap Sun, 19 Jan. 2022, www.kitsapsun.com/story/sports/2022/01/19/jim-moore-recruiting-transfers-and-nil-money-ruin-college-football/6566498001/.

Boettger, Eli “College Basketball’s Most Powerful Force: The Transfer Portal.” Athletic Director U, https://athleticdirectoru.com/, 18 Feb. 2022, athleticdirectoru.com/articles/college-basketball-transfer-portal/.

Saunders, Brennan. Ouachita Baptist University Scholarly Commons @ Ouachita, scholarlycommons.obu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1852&context=honors_theses. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.

“Pat Narduzzi on Why the Transfer Portal Is Ruining College Football.” YouTube, YouTube, 3 Aug. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=isP3NSRXFXw.

Pina, Michael. “The NBA Has a Chemistry Problem.” SBNation.Com, 23 Apr. 2020, www.sbnation.com/nba/2020/4/23/21229237/nba-roster-chemistry-free-agency-team-turnover.

Gerson, Jennifer. “Olivia Dunne’s Rise to Fame Is Fueling the Earning Power of College Athletes - but Who Is Keeping Her Safe?” The 19th, 14 Feb. 2023, 19thnews.org/2023/01/livvy-dunne-tiktok-lsu-gymnast-influencer-nil-policies/.

Gaydos, Ryan, and Fox News. “Legendary Basketball Coach Tara VanDerveer Takes Issue with How Popular Gymnast Olivia Dunne Earns Nil Deals.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 10 Nov. 2022, www.foxnews.com/sports/legendary-basketball-coach-tara-vanderveer-takes-issue-how-popular-gymnast-olivia-dunne-earns-nil-deals.

Ellner, Mark. “A Critical Look at Women’s Role in Physical Education and Sport in the 1930s.” Educational Considerations, Kansas State University, College of Education.

Peszek, Samantha. “This Is Actually so Scary and Disturbing and Cringey. I’m Embarrassed for Them... Pic.Twitter.Com/H23bbdbq9b.” Twitter, Twitter, 8 Jan. 2023, twitter.com/samanthapeszek/status/1611929895839453184?s=20.

Dewar, Victoria. “Sports Illustrated Covers Often Contribute to This Stereotype in the Way They Photograph the Athletes. #SPMA2P91 Pic.Twitter.Com/Iarkchqsjq.” Twitter, Twitter, 29 Jan. 2019, twitter.com/_victoriadewar/status/1090097743849242624.

“How Athletes Go Bankrupt at an Alarming Rate.” American Bankruptcy Institute, 5 Jan. 2018, www.abi.org/feed-item/how-athletes-go-bankrupt-at-an-alarming-rate.

Staff, TMZ. “Ex-NBA Star Antoine Walker -- ‘I’m Not Embarrassed’ ... about Blowing $110 Million.” TMZ, TMZ, 13 May 2019, www.tmz.com/2014/09/28/ex-nba-star-antoine-walker-i-was-robbed-three-times/.

Rusoff, Jane Wollman. “How Ex-NBA Star Antoine Walker Keeps Young Players from Repeating His Money Mistakes.” ThinkAdvisor, 18 Aug. 2021, www.thinkadvisor.com/2021/08/18/how-ex-nba-star-antoine-walker-keeps-young-players-from-repeating-his-money-mistakes/.

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Dear Chisako,
As someone who grew up in a family of sports lovers, I was very happy to see this course on the catalog this past summer. English is very important no matter the major, so to be able to improve on my researching skills while learning more about the topic I am so passionate about is the best it can get. I am so relieved that I was able to get off of the waitlist because as a Sophomore I feel as though now is the time to expand on my writing. The class activities, peer reviews and discussions, and weekly assignments have all helped me with compiling my research for this project. From the structure of the class, to the content presented, this has been my favorite English course by far at Berkeley.
This Project #1 assignment allowed me to use the skills learned in class to delve deeper into an aspect of sports that interests me. I took a Sociology of Sports class last semester and believe that this is the perfect follow up. Something that was brought up vaguely in Sociology was the impact of NIL on college sports, but we only scraped the surface. In particular, I thought that the transfer portal process and the conference changes were interesting. I was able to compare what I learned in each class to complete this project. I appreciate your time and availability when it comes to helping us with assignments, it is something I value and I enjoyed completing this project while learning new things along the way.

Thank you,
Alani Reynoso

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How will the consequences of NIL transcend into the professional world of sports with money management? 

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How will the consequences of NIL transcend into the professional world of sports with money management? 

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When college athletes transition into their professional careers, they will be expected to handle NIL and salary earnings on their own. It is crucial that they educate themselves on proper spending habits to establish good financial literacy. According to a Sports Illustrated article report, 78% of NFL players and 60% of NBA players face serious financial hardships after retirement, several of whom were once college athletes themselves. (Hart, 2018) Professional athletes make a substantial amount of money, which can be tempting to spend all at once, especially for those who come from a rags to riches story. This is why it is imperative that institutions and universities provide support and help student athletes make well informed financial decisions. Even in college, athletes seem to suffer from financial losses because they do not know how to balance their earnings.

The struggle for professional athletes to properly manage their money has become a difficult concept in today's society. From luxury vehicles, to multi million dollar homes, the money just seems to pile on when the first paycheck arrives. Newfound wealth and young age, keep in mind that these athletes are getting recruited at the ages of roughly 18-20, may come with some level of immaturity and poor planning for the foreseeable future. Former NBA player Antoine Walker has fallen victim to this after his career ended. He would spend his money on lavish things, not taking into account the repercussions he would face once the majority of his money went out the window. (TMZ, 2014) The amount of money he was earning came with bad company. People would try to burglarize his home, and he was caught for gambling debts and other ethical issues. Due to these misfortunes, Walker is now committed to helping college athletes and young recruits through Edyoucore, a financial education company. It is recommended that college athletes learn about the process of managing money before they meet a financial advisor. (Rusoff, 2021) Colleges should also better educate their athletes on the matter. Antoine Walker's story serves as a cautionary tale for college athletes that will soon enter the professional sports world.

The ability of college athletes being able to profit off of NIL after the O'Bannon vs NCAA Supreme Court Case has sparked a lot of controversy in recent years. Whether enjoyable or not, the structure of college sports is changing and NIL is here to stay. However, student athletes should be monitored, and restrictions put in place when making decisions related to any form of compensation. Resolving ethical issues such as inequalities in pay and opportunities, and ensuring the safety and well being of the student athlete should be of upmost importance due to the fact that this will ensure success at the professional level.

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Student athletes are constantly leaving colleges to pursue more lucrative offers from other institutions. This is causing a change in team dynamics and culture due to the fact that once they leave and more recruits come in, the team has to learn how to play with each other all over again. College sports once revolved around loyalty, and the notion that winning at all costs is the most important thing. However, the introduction of NIL deals and transfer portal money changes this. Coaches now have to put in extra time to make sure their most important players stay for the long-term. (Moore, 2022) They are being promised things and essentially are being bribed out of their school. Often times athletes want out because they feel as though more opportunities are present elsewhere. Prominent players weigh offers nonstop from other schools, and they use this as leverage to make their current school give them more cash just so that they can stay. (Moore, 2022) The introduction of NIL worsens the structure of team culture because with no loyalty, teams can’t be stable enough to have good chemistry.

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I love college football. It's my favorite sport. I tell myself I should like the transfer portal and the new rules that allow players to benefit financially from their name, image and likeness.

Hey, I continue to tell myself, if coaches can move around from job to job, players should also be able to move from one program to another. And if schools and coaches are making millions, the players should get a piece of the action too.

I get all of it, I really do. But truth be known, I can't stand what college football has become. This occurred to me the other day when I saw a Tweet from an Auburn car dealer featuring photos of a 2022 GMC Sierra AT4 truck that was delivered to new Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward.

The $60,000 truck was part of a package deal for Ward that included a reported $50,000 in cash and a $20,000 housing allowance. It's all ok, because the Name, Image and Likeness, or NIL, policy now in effect allows college athletes to earn money from outside sources, which they couldn't do in the past because the NCAA considered them amateurs. Presumably, Ward is now a car dealer's pitchman.

As a Coug fan, I should be thrilled that Ward is coming to WSU, particularly since the quarterback he's replacing, Jayden de Laura, jumped into the transfer portal himself and will now play at Arizona.

Apparently the de Laura transfer was prompted by the possibility that Ward might come to WSU, providing him with some stiff competition that he wasn't too excited about. Or maybe he left because he got a better offer from Arizona, rumored to be in the $300,000 neighborhood.

All of this will take some getting used to, but that's not likely to happen with me. I heard a college football analyst say that this new way of doing things will only create a bigger disparity between the haves and have nots.

As one former Cougar football player said: "WSU is The Dollar Store compared to the Big 12 and SEC with this."

Texas A&M boosters are reportedly offering its highly regarded incoming recruiting class as much as $25 to $30 million combined. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young was said to have made $1 million in endorsements this year. Even a small school like Eastern Michigan is taking a shot at Caleb Williams, the Oklahoma QB who entered the portal, with a former player who went on to pro success offering him $1 million to become an Eagle.

Imagine being a coach - and yes, I understand we're talking about guys with multi-million-dollar contracts who should be able to handle additional responsibilities. But still, now a coach has to put in extra time to make sure his most important players stay with the program long-term.

And I don't know what we're talking about anymore. I'm guessing prominent players will be weighing offers nonstop from other schools, delivered through back channels, and using those offers as leverage for more cash or a nicer car from their current school.

Nothing's too far-fetched in this crazy landscape, and what's worse, there are no regulations in place to prevent even the most bizarre transactions.

We've just getting started with players being publicly paid, yet I'm already wishing we would go back to the way it used to be - when all of it was considered shady and sanction-worthy.

Now we're encouraging boosters to participate more than ever. I don't know, maybe I'm in the minority, maybe I need to get with it, maybe I'm way off base. I don't care, put me in the camp that still considers a free education a heck of a good deal.

It probably wasn't when I was a student who paid $600 for tuition my freshman year at WSU in 1974-75. But now? What's it cost to put a kid through four years of college now? Anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000? I'm not exactly sure, but I'm about to find out with two seniors in high school who will be off to college in the fall.

And what about the atmosphere in the locker room? Take Ward for instance. If I'm an offensive lineman whose job is to protect him, I'm thinking I'm maybe not entitled to a $60,000 truck, but shouldn't I be getting something? And if I don't, how does that impact chemistry and rapport on the team?

You watch, every time an alum from some school somewhere thinks it's great that an elite player from another school transfers in, he'll be just as annoyed when his alma mater loses a player in the same fashion.

Plus I really dislike the thought of constant bidding wars for the best players. So much for the coach, school and program being the biggest selling points.

Again, you can accuse me of having a senior moment featuring a "get off my lawn" rant. But if you think I'm an old head who should keep up with the times, when it comes to this stuff, I prefer to live in the past.
Jim Moore is a longtime Pacific Northwest sportswriter and sports radio host on 950 KJR at 10 a.m. weekdays with Jason Puckett, and writes a regular column for the Kitsap Sun. Contact Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.

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Transfers and top-dollar recruiting are changing the sport in a way I don't like

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Paying $300,000 for a new quarterback? The new era of college football isn't headed in the right direction.

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NIL challenges the NCAA’s amateurism model, but also norms among student athletes. NBA Hall of Famer and sports analyst Charles Barkeley weighs in on the adverse effects of being able to profit off of NIL. “What really bothers me and scares me about the whole scenario, Dan, there’s going to be so much resentment from other teammates,” Barkley said. “They’ll be like, ‘Damn, Charles is selling jerseys. He’s got a car deal. We work just as hard as him.” Disparities in NIL deals might create inequalities among athletes which did not exist in an amateurism world. What makes a particular athlete worthy of having more deals is ultimately what will shift behavior on and off the court. They now have to compete against each other in order to publicize their name.

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NCAA athletes have wasted no time taking advantage of the new policy allowing them to profit off their name, image and likeness. Charles Barkley is concerned about what it will mean for team chemistry in locker rooms.

Barkley weighed in on NIL during a recent interview with Dan Patrick.

"This notion that 'wow this is going to be great for college athletics, all these people are going to make a lot of money', Dan, I don't believe that," Barkley told Patrick.

Barkley elaborated that at Auburn athletes like he and Bo Jackson would have done well but he's not how their teammates would handle that.

"What really bothers me and scares me about the whole scenario, Dan, there's going to be so much resentment from other teammates," Barkley said. "They'll be like, 'Damn, Charles is selling jerseys. He's got a car deal. We work just as hard as him.' Same thing with Bo Jackson. The offensive lineman - he opens up all the holes for Bo Jackson. Bo Jackson is making all this money and the offensive lineman who has to do all the work is not making a dime, I think there's gonna be great resentment and jealousy on these teams."

Some players appear to have already considered Barkley's concerns. Texas A&M standout Ainias Smith notably pledged to give his teammates a percentage of all his NIL deals.

"This notion that 'wow this is going to be great for college athletics, all these people are going to make a lot of money', Dan I don't believe that."

-Charles Barkley on the #NCAA NIL rule change

For Charles full appearance: https://t.co/KRRNaWRNwE pic.twitter.com/AqL1dgT6la

- Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 2, 2021

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Charles Barkley shares what 'scares' him about NIL era of college sports

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Barkley has concerns about how NIL deals will affect team chemistry.

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NIL is becoming a double edged sword for female college athletes. Olivia Dunne, a 21 year old LSU gymnastics star, has faced the dark side of online fandom in recent years. The policy of NIL has been allowing these athletes to financially benefit in a way they otherwise never could from their sport. Due to this, Olivia has been sexualized through her social media posts on TikTok and Instagram. (Gerson, 2023) She posts bikini pictures through swimwear sponsorships and other "provocative" images of wearing her gymnastics leotard. These images were not made to be sexual, but the way in which the public perceived these images in a world of sports where females are valued for their beauty rather than their talent can be alarming. (Figure 4) NIL gives male athletes a greater incentive to stay on a college team before going pro, but there are limited opportunities for women above college sports. Few go on to play at the professional level. In Olivia Dunne's case, although she might not go on to become a professional gymast, she uses these opportunities of NIL to become an influencer as her most profitable career track, but faces risks along the way.

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Olivia Dunne has 6.7 million followers on TikTok and 2.8 million followers on Instagram. But on a recent Sunday, the 20-year-old wasn't dropping new content onto her social platforms. She was doing what first brought her into social media fame: competing at a gymnastics meet with her Louisiana State University (LSU) teammates.

Outside the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, where LSU was competing against the University of Utah, hundreds of teenage boys surrounded the doors and LSU's team bus, screaming "Livvy!" and saying they wouldn't move until they saw the student-athlete and social media star in person. Ultimately, LSU had to move its bus, and the police had to step in to ensure athletes from both teams could exit the meet safely.

Later that day, Dunne tweeted to her 54,400 Twitter followers, "I will always appreciate and love the support from you guys, but if you come to a meet, I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job." LSU announced several days after the meet that it would increase security for the gymnastics team at all competitions.

Dunne is the most-followed college athlete on all of social media. Her NIL - or name, image and likeness, the term for the way in which a college athlete may monetize and publicize their personal brand through endorsements, sponsorship and ad deals - is said to be valued at $2.7 million, and she is the only woman student athlete in the top 10 NIL values in college sports. The other nine are all men's basketball and football players.

Student-athletes have been allowed by the National College Athletics Association (NCAA) to be compensated for their NIL only since July of 2021. The NIL policy came about after years of increased attention to the fact that college athletes are not allowed to be paid by their college or university for their work on a school team - even though schools, especially those with popular men's athletics programs, can generate huge profits off their performance.

But as the situation with Dunne revealed, the NIL policy has created a kind of double-edged sword for women student-athletes, allowing them to financially benefit in a way they otherwise never could from their sport, but also making them vulnerable to the dark side of online fandom. If parasocial relationships - or the belief by a media consumer that they are friends with a media personality despite limited or no first-hand interactions with them - are making it possible for women student athletes to reap new financial rewards, they're also making them newly vulnerable to fans who increasingly feel entitled to their presence 24/7, on their screen and in real life. And schools are for the most part not prepared to deal with this new attention and the risks that come with it.

Olivia Dunne looks on during a meet on January 6, 2023 in Salt Lake City. (Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

Molly Yanity, an associate professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University and an expert on college sports, gender and media, said Dunne represents a kind of "perfect storm" that is created by the "financial investment of fans in college sports, the investment of time and passion into fans in college sports, and the sexualization of females in the entertainment business." The situation also speaks to the disparities that exist between the ways schools choose to invest in their men's and women's sports programs, she said.

Universities, Yanity said, "want the good athletes on their field and I don't think the safety of female athletes has ever crossed their mind" in navigating the implementation of the NIL policy. The NIL incentivizes men athletes to stay on a college team longer before going pro, but fails to account for the ways women athletes who don't have the option of a professional career are positioned to capitalize on their NIL opportunities when being an influencer might be their most profitable future career track.

The fact that schools do not pay student-athletes for their labor is part of the fundamental problem, she said. But the NIL policy also ignores "the realities of how the sexualization of female athletes plays into this."

The policy, she said, has inadvertently created a situation where female athletes aren't necessarily being rewarded for their performance in their sport, but for performing conventional beauty standards on social media platforms. But paradoxically, women athletes' social media presence is critical to their ability to build a fan base and draw attention to their athletic capabilities.

"An individual's social media presence is the number one way female athletes can connect with fans and sponsors because they're not on TV as much," Yanity said. "Other than the SEC Network and ESPN U, I've never seen college gymnastics aired on TV. If athletes want to make money - which of course they want to - they have to take their message and photos to social media and there's nothing wrong with that. We want them to feel empowered to do that. But because of what our society values, a gorgeous young woman is going to be the envy of young men and that's where the financial power will lie."

But while women athletes who present themselves according to current beauty standards stand to earn the most, they also face backlash for doing just that, Yannity said. Since the incident in Utah, Yanity said she's seen numerous media outlets imply that Dunne "brings this on herself."

"Why does that have to be the narrative?" Yanity asked. "She can do whatever she wants. Should she give up her over 2 million dollars? Hell no. She deserves the ability to monetize her ability and her looks. All the power to her."

But the reality remains, Yanity said, to be a young, conventionally beautiful woman online and in sports means accepting "backlash" as a norm - and colleges and universities could do more to help support athletes through this with sports psychologists on hand to help navigate this new reality. Colleges and universities should also take the initiative, she said, to provide more security for women athletes at competitions in this context. "This incident took LSU and Utah by surprise and I empathize in a way - how do you say, 'Well if you want to do NIL, be ready for men who can't control themselves?'"

But Yanity said she is also concerned about the young women who will look at Dunne's tremendous NIL success and try to attain that for themselves by pursuing athletics. It's already happening, she's saying, with more and more young athletes starting even in middle school trying to develop personal brands for themselves through social media. "Will they get a scholarship? Will they burn out at 13 years old? Especially if things evolve and the pro leagues eventually start subsidizing men's college sports - what happens under Title IX? Women's sports will be swept aside once again."

Kathyrn Coduto, an assistant professor of media science at Boston University who studies social media and its effects on interpersonal relationships, said that the compulsive way many people engage with social media, constantly checking for updates and new content, has intensified parasocial relationships into something new and perhaps more dangerous.

"When you're constantly on your phone, even if you haven't met someone, if you constantly see them on your screen they feel like your friend - and someone you should have access to all the time, too."

Fans hold signs asking for picture with Olivia Dunne at a meet on January 6, 2023 in Salt Lake City. (Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

Gender, she said, plays a crucial and sometimes dangerous role in this feeling many social media users that they are owed guaranteed, round-the-clock access. "The stereotype exists that women are influencers and if they are influencers then they want people looking at them all the time and that the people they want looking at them are men."

While this stereotype is pervasive, and dangerous, on its merits for any influencer, Coduto said it can be even more so for a student-athlete like Dunne. "A college gymnast is someone who is trying to do a job and compete in her sport. It's not about who is looking at her - that's not the priority. But there's this belief that she must deserve this because she created this high profile for herself."

Women athletes, said Coduto, are often forgotten in conversations about NIL, which instead focus on the ability of men college football players and their ability to make money for playing in programs that reap financial rewards for their performance. But women athletes deserve the same right to compensation, Coduto said. "They should be able to earn money and their being successful with NIL does raise a lot of capital for their programs - but the trade-off is that they themselves are not for sale. People get confused about that. Olivia Dunne is not selling her body or access to herself."

Women, and women athletes in the wake of NIL, face difficult societal expectations, said Coduto. "For women there is this expectation that you should be good at social media and you should know how to handle it. A lot of college athletes are learning and seeing people like Olivia Dunne - and they understand that she might be giving access to herself through promoting products, but that's not the same as being available for anyone to consume whenever they want."

From her research, Coduto said she has seen that part of what drives people to be constantly online is the hope that an influencer may have liked a comment of theirs, in turn prompting people to engage even more with influencers. And many people believe that a comment or reply back constitutes a real relationship. "For creators, their online presence is a brand. For an athlete, they are creating a brand. If you're following someone on Instagram or TikTok, you're getting a filtered version of that person and not a real person. People seem to forget this."

Many high-profile influencers have a team managing their accounts, meaning they're not even responding to or liking comments personally - though many users do not realize this. "This translates to in-person behaviors," said Coduto. "Maybe she likes my comment - so why can't I see her in person and take a photo? You're thinking you know this person because you can see them online and if you can get a photo, it will make it real to all the people who follow you. People are thinking about their own followings in addition to the people they follow, and it creates this vicious cycle."

It's a cycle that can create a transactional, and dangerous, situation for creators - all the more so when that creator is also a college student and athlete who publicly competes. "When you see how willing people are to show up in person just to objectify you, that's dangerous," Coduto said. "It takes just one truly unwell person to take that from uncomfortable to dangerous, thinking, 'I have to meet you.'"

Kristin Drogos, a media psychologist at the University of Michigan who studies both parasocial relationships and social contagion as impacted by social media, told The 19th that it's important to understand the evolution of parasocial relationships in the age of social media. "We had this true separation from 'person in the media' and 'person consuming that media' - and that separation is now gone. We're now looking at how people are attaching themselves to social media figures who aren't playing Rachel Green and Ross Gellar on TV, but people who are showing what is real life for them and they happen to be putting it out on the Internet and social media channels."

Drogos said that while it is normal for anyone in a parasocial relationship to fantasize about what it might take to make this relationship no longer one-sided, the very nature of social media moves this question out of the realm of fantasy and into that of possibility.

The way gender factors into this cannot be ignored, Drogos said, pointing to situations like Gamergate in 2014 - where women were targeted and severely harassed online by an online-based gaming fan community in response to a larger criticism of some gaming journalists, most of whom were not women, being unethical in their work - that "if you present as female online, you're going to have aggressive language used against you. It's not surprising that what happened [with Dunne] started with an online fandom."

Olivia Dunne takes a selfie with fans after a meet on January 6, 2023 in Salt Lake City. (Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

With an attachment formed through the Internet - where sexism and misogyny are openly on display - "it doesn't seem that far-fetched of an idea that the attitude could then move offline as well when they start entering a real-life group setting and feeding off of one another."

Social media in general has opened up the possibility for anyone to become an influencer - and benefit from a financial windfall as a result - and the situation is all the more intensified for student-athletes who now both have a built-in platform through their sport and the blessing of the NCAA to build a personal brand and try to profit from it. "There's a real tightrope to walk when someone is a woman athlete and trying to establish a brand online and having to negotiate all of these dynamics. If we think about how this makes young women accessible, this seeming accessibility is both an opportunity and a risk," Drogos said.

The situation with Dunne, Drogos said, set a darker tone for a parasocial relationship. "It seemed to be this feeling that they are owed something. 'She pops up on Twitter, why can't she pop up in real life? Why can't she immediately be available to me here?'"

What struck her was the men's behavior when they realized they could not interact with Dunne. The crowding and harassment at the end of the meet, she said, was far from the overeager friendliness that typically defined parasocial relationships. To her, it carried another message.

"'You owe me something and why aren't you here for me?' That doesn't feel like friend behavior," Drogos said. "Do we think women celebrities owe us more than men do? I suspect so."

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Olivia Dunne's rise to fame is fueling the earning power of college athletes - but who is keeping her safe?

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The LSU gymnast's platform as an influencer shows how the NCAA's name, image and likeness policies can benefit women athletes - while also leaving them vulnerable to the dark side of online fandom.

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Olivia Dunne has faced criticism recently due to her fame and success. Many people do not know about her outside of social media because it is the main source of her being publicized. Stanford basketball coach Tara VanDerveer, a strong supporter of women's rights, sees this trend as a "step back" for female athletes. (Gaydos, 2022) This is causing disappointment in women that have long believed that success should be built on athleticism and talent. The athletic capability of female athletes has been undermined for as long as they have been able to participate, and NIL is contributing to the disparities we see in college sports today.

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Legendary Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer took issue with how LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne was earning big bucks in name, image and likeness (NIL) sponsorships.

Dunne, a junior going into the 2023 season, has one of the largest social media followings of any collegiate athlete across any sport male or female. She reportedly earns around $2 million with various sponsorships such as the activewear brand Vuori, American Eagle and Planet Fuel. Dunne is also signed to one of the biggest agencies in WME Sports.
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Dunne boasts more than 6.2 million followers on TikTok and 2.3 million followers on Instagram. The 20-year-old at times posts scantily clad photos and videos, which is partly the reason why her brand is as incredibly successful as it is.

VanDerveer, a staunch supporter of women's rights who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, said she saw the trend as a "step back" for female athletes.

"I guess sometimes we have this swinging pendulum, where we maybe take two steps forward, and then we take a step back," she told The New York Times in a recent interview. "We're fighting for all the opportunities to compete, to play, to have resources, to have facilities, to have coaches, and all the things that go with Olympic-caliber athletics.
BYU WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL OPPONENT CANCELS GAME OVER DEBUNKED 'RACIST AND HOSTILE' ENVIRONMENT

"This is a step back," she added.

Dunne told the paper she is proud of what she has been able to accomplish with the floodgates opening for NIL deals.

"Seven figures," she said. "That is something I'm proud of. Especially since I'm a woman in college sports. There are no professional leagues for most women's sports after college."

The New Jersey native is also an accomplished collegiate gymnast and has proven to excel on and off the floor.

When Dunne first started at LSU in 2021, she made the SEC's First-Year Academic Honor Roll and was a WCGA Academic All-American as well. She was a WCGA All-American in the uneven bars and, in 2022, was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

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Legendary basketball coach Tara VanDerveer takes issue with how popular gymnast Olivia Dunne earns NIL deals

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Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer took issue with how popular LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne was earning NIL endorsement money.

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For as long as female athletes have been allowed to participate in sports, gender inequalities have prevented them to have success in their sport from just talent alone. The expectation that you have to commercialize your sport through provocative images and deals that meet the male gaze reinforces this notion of NIL being used to sexualize women. Possessing assets such as grace and beauty were especially important for women to get higher fan bases and viewership in general. (Ibid, 2020) This further highlights a longstanding societal interest in the presentation of women in sports. If female athletes are mainly valued for their appearance rather than their talent, NIL deals might reinforce the idea that they obtain their worthiness through their physical attractiveness. (Ibid, 2020) These ideas can potentially lead to a situation where women feel pressured to prioritize their likeness and image over their goals as athletes.

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Transfers often enter the portal due to an increase in athletic offers. According to the NCAA, as of 2019 college athletes that have a higher incentive to change institutions are Men's Soccer (18.6%) and Basketball (15.3%), which are two of the main sports that offer multiple deals in NIL. Men's soccer shows the highest net increase, which proves that wanting to play somewhere else because of money is a big reason as to why athletes leave.

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In recent years, the amount of college athletes entering the transfer portal has reached an all time high. Escaping a bad locker room situation or going somewhere else to play more minutes is becoming an easy excuse. There is no longer the guarantee of a player staying on a team all four years. (Keen, 2022) When these players leave, they are making it more difficult for coaches to find replacements. NIL is contributing more and more to these changes because colleges are offering students money and deals to sign with their school. They are constantly in a limbo of trying to figure out where they can get the most out of their college experience. The University of Miami, for example, offers every scholarship player $500 a month just for them to endorse a mixed martial arts gym. (Saunders, 2022) Colleges now using these NIL benefits as bait for athletes is playing a huge role in why they want to leave their institution in the first place.

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College athletes are often criticized for wanting to switch schools due to luxuries. They believe that the grass is greener on the other side, especially when it comes to money or more NIL deals. University of Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi shares his thoughts on the NCAA transfer portal. “If a kid wants to play and he’s not going to play here then the portal is good for those guys. But when the tampering happens and guys are trying to steal your guys- that’s when it gets bad. You shouldn’t be able to go in the portal because someone’s offering you more or you want to throw on a different color jersey or logo to entice you to go to their school.” (Narduzzi, 2023) There should be restrictions in the college transfer portal that enforce who should be able to leave an institution. If college athletes continue to have the liberty of leaving schools just because they want to play for another brand, then this will destroy the concept of loyalty and tradition.

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Pat Narduzzi On Why The Transfer Portal Is Ruining College Football

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Figure 1: A comparison of how much Bronny James makes in NIL as opposed to his fellow Projected 2024 NBA Draft Picks per THE BOARDROOM.

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Differences in how much an athlete makes through NIL is another way in which unequal opportunities compromise the future of student athletes. Bronny James (son of NBA Lakers Super Star LeBron James), is projected to make millions in NIL deals while his possible future opponents are barely going to be getting half a million. (Figure 1) This might create certain feelings of resentment from teammates, or the spotlight during the NBA draft to be shifted away from higher picks and onto him. There are college basketball players that have potentially worked harder to be presented with the position that they are at today. (THE BOARDROOM, 2023) However, due to prior fame and the fact that his father is one of the greatest of all time, other draft picks may be left in the shadows. Bronny has yet to play a game for USC, but the privilege of having an image to his name and connections might increase the likelihood of how much he will be making not just in college, but in the NBA as well.

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In the article "How Sponsorship Deals Are Transforming College Sports" Schoenfeld discusses the intersection between the economic model of sports, from the traditional college sports model prior to NIL through amateurism. For as long as the NCAA had been around, student athletes had no legal way of getting any compensation for their hard work aside from trophies and accolades. They were not able to receive any benefits that were linked to their participation in a sport. However, in 2021, a Supreme Court decision against the NCAA ended nearly all of its restrictions on what athletes could earn from their NIL. (Schoenfeld, 2023) Although a fairly new concept, several players have already faced repercussions in transactions that have led to severe sanctions against their teams. The constant change of the structure of college athletics is leading to a divide between traditionality and the morally correct/incorrect within the integrity of the student athlete. In wake of these changes, the NCAA decided that it would just be better to allow athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness so that they would not encounter any more lawsuits. (Schoenfeld, 2023) Even though this is a great opportunity for students to receive compensation for their hard work, this process should be closely monitored.

This sets the stage for a deeper dive into the evolving landscape of college sports and focuses on how the implementation of NIL policies may have unintended consequences for the integrity of student athletes. Important considerations could be raised, such as the balance between financial empowerment and the core values of amateurism and fair competition.

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How is the ever-changing landscape of college sports compromising the integrity of student athletes through NIL?

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The structure of college athletics marked by NIL in today's society creates a double-edged sword for student athletes through benefits and repercussions. While the policies from NIL can offer opportunities for financial empowerment, potential pitfalls can arise and may be detrimental to this new era of the student athlete. The potential impacts and ethical challenges associated with these changes could be observed in the complexity of the realm of college sports.

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Figure 4: Ecstatic male fans lined up outside just to see LSU gymnastics star Livvy Dunne while chanting "WE WANT LIVVY" in a grotesque manner. 

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This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey. I’m embarrassed for them…

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This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey. I’m embarrassed for them… https://t.co/h23bBdBQ9B

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This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey. I’m embarrassed for them… pic.twitter.com/h23bBdBQ9B
— Samantha Peszek (@samanthapeszek) January 8, 2023

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This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey. I’m embarrassed for them… https://t.co/h23bBdBQ9B

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This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey. I’m embarrassed for them… https://t.co/h23bBdBQ9B

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This is actually so scary and disturbing and cringey. I’m embarrassed for them…

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International students are unable to profit off of NIL due to NCAA and visa rules and restrictions. They legally cannot make money off of anything that is seen as a job outside of their educational setting. "Due to the nature of the F-1 visa, however, international students are generally prohibited from obtaining employment outside of the educational setting. Therefore,  despite  the  NCAA’s  broad  allowance  of  NIL  rights,  international

student-athletes are in essence still prohibited from profiting from their NIL due  to  visa  restrictions.  There  is  an  irony  in  such  a  sentiment,  as  for  decades  student-athletes were denied the right to profit from their NIL. (Belo, 1996) Due to this, international student athletes are not able to create a brand for themselves. While American athletes are making thousands of dollars through lucrative deals and social media posts, international students have to wait until they sign with a professional team. One of the only ways to do so is through a P1-A visa, which is reserved for elite level athletes. You would have to be one of the best not only in your sport, but in the NCAA as well. These athletes see that their teammates are getting lucrative deals and wonder why they can't do the same. (Figure 2) Creating these restrictions hinders the inhibitions of student athletes all over the world to come to the U.S. and play their sport in college, while getting the benefits of being able to give a brand to their name.

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In the NBA, players leave to play on different teams due to contracts that will generate more profit. This is contributing to the destruction of team culture and the overarching theme of winning because there is no chemistry between players. The longer we are around people, the more we are able to build connections and know how to read their behavior. (Pina, 2020) The same transcends on the playing field for both professional and college sports. If there is no stability with who is on a team, teammates will not know how to play with them during a game. The cohesive factor of a team simply cannot exist without there being camaraderie. NBA player Austin Rivers shares his thoughts on the constant movement of players on teams. “I’ve had teammates who’ve played on eight, nine teams. I mean that’s nuts.” (Rivers, 2020) Rules regarding how often a player can switch teams have softened over time. As for college sports, student athletes also use money to switch between institutions through NIL, and contribute to a disruption in team connections.

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How NBA teams struggle to create chemistry in an era when rosters are turning over faster than ever.

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Figure 5: Anna Kournikova (left), Roger Federer (right)

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On the cover of these two Sports Illustrated magazines, we see a deep contrast in the way former tennis stars Anna Kournikova and Roger Federer are portrayed. While Roger is showing strength and precision playing his sport, we see a more submissive Anna who appears to be in a girly blouse, seductively laying on a pillow. The way in which female athletes are portrayed in magazines is usually to show their physical attributes and beauty, rather than their athleticism. This goes back decades and can even be seen in Sports Illustrated articles to this day. Society feels as though in order to attract an audience to their product, they need to sell something that viewers would want to buy. Simply showing Anna playing her sport is not enough to portray her likeness and femininity.

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Fig.2:University of Cincinnati football player Mason Fletcher is unable to profit off of his own NIL due to Visa restrictions. He is from Melbourne, Australia. 

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As an International student athlete I am unable to Get access to any NIL money so I’ve decided that all profits from purchases of anything in my name will go to all our Walk-ons on our football team! This will hopefully give some financial help to these guys that give their all.

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As an International student athlete I am unable to Get access to any NIL money so I’ve decided that all profits from purchases of anything in my name will go to all our Walk-ons on our football team! This will hopefully give some financial help to these guys that give their all. https://t.co/xTRiG6eH6T

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As an International student athlete I am unable to Get access to any NIL money so I’ve decided that all profits from purchases of anything in my name will go to all our Walk-ons on our football team! This will hopefully give some financial help to these guys that give their all. pic.twitter.com/xTRiG6eH6T
— Mason Fletcher (@MasonFletcher19) September 16, 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
As an International student athlete I am unable to Get access to any NIL money so I’ve decided that all profits from purchases of anything in my name will go to all our Walk-ons on our football team! This will hopefully give some financial help to these guys that give their all. https://t.co/xTRiG6eH6T

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
As an International student athlete I am unable to Get access to any NIL money so I’ve decided that all profits from purchases of anything in my name will go to all our Walk-ons on our football team! This will hopefully give some financial help to these guys that give their all. https://t.co/xTRiG6eH6T

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
As an International student athlete I am unable to Get access to any NIL money so I’ve decided that all profits from purchases of anything in my name will go to all our Walk-ons on our football team! This will hopefully give some financial help to these guys that give their all.