A few weeks ago we touched on the gap that NCAA athletes still have today, and might not have much longer, with regard to owning their Name, Image and Likeness. It came up as Stephen F. Austin senior Nathan Bain sank career defining shot to beat Duke, and then told the story of his family and how they were ravaged by Hurricane Dorian. The story drove donations to a Go Fund Me page for the relief effort, but if Bain could have had more control over the moment, maybe, maybe the good would have been amplified.
Another example of what could be possible hen NIL is changed as last Saturday in New York, as LSU quarterback Joe Barrow accepted the Heisman Trophy.
In his speech, Burrow talked about growing up in Athens County, Ohio, and the financial struggles that came with living in the region.
“Coming from southeast Ohio it’s a very impoverished area and the poverty rate is almost two times the national average,” he said. “There’s so many people there that don’t have a lot and I’m up here for all those kids in Athens and Athens County that go home to not a lot of food on the table, hungry after school. You guys can be up here too.”
Athens native Will Drabold then started a national fundraising campaign for the Athens County Food Pantry, and raised several hundred thousand dollars off of the impassioned and authentic speech.
So think about what could happen if Burrow, on a planned national stage, could do for social good with his image tied to that food bank IF he were able to. The entrepreneurial could again create something special, for auction, that would raise even more and seize that moment in time.
No dice, unless Burrow and the Tigers want to forgo an even bigger stage, the College Football Championship in a few weeks’ time. Now then, with no additional eligibility, Burro could hoist a bigger story which could and should lead through to the draft. Design and sell some tees, create a campaign you lead, and Joe Burro’s hero status off of his LSU success rides an amazing wave.
Now that’s the good news; Burrow has a runway to success. Many, frankly most, athletes who can seize that one moment, don’t have that runway.
While this is still a slippery and undefined slope that will have its share of fits and starts, there are two bright moments less than a month apart where an athlete seized a moment for social good, not just his or her on pockets, and could amplify a wider cause with their name and creative image. In both cases the message was amplified through media coverage and social play, and the effects which are positive are still ongoing. Not totally fulfilled but ongoing.
