House settlement leader Steve Berman blasts Donald Trump, Nick Saban for executive order talk

Coming off appearances last week in Tuscaloosa, Donald Trump and Nick Saban have had discussions about what’s to come in the future of college sports. However, those currently working towards those decisions aren’t looking for their involvement.

Steve Berman, a leader working towards the deadline of the House Settlement, criticized Trump and Saban for their last-minute solutions. He did so in a release on Monday afternoon through Hagens Berman, the law firm, where he’s currently managing partner as co-founder, involved in the settlement, with it reading that their idea of an executive order would be “unmerited and unhelpful”.

“Coach Saban and Trump’s eleventh-hour talks of executive orders and other meddling are just more unneeded self-involvement,” Berman said. “College athletes are spearheading historic changes and benefitting massively from NIL deals. They don’t need this unmerited interference from a coach only seeking to protect the system that made him tens of millions.”

Saban introduced Trump on Thursday night at a commencement ceremony at Alabama. After a meeting during that time together, Trump has, per reporting by ‘The Wall Street Journal’, since considered an executive order that would “increase scrutiny” on NIL, which Saban had argued was something that has “damaged college sports”. The President agreed with him having since beginning work on a potential order with the purpose of “reforming” name, image, and likeness.

Berman, though, sees that as some hypocrisy by Saban. He noted how the all-time college coach has been consistently against the current practice with NIL, even with appearances in Washington D.C., in a time where he too made more than enough money for his work on the field.

“While he was a coach, Saban initially opposed NIL payments to athletes, pushing to add restrictions and red-tape through national legislation to add ‘some sort of control,'” said Berman. “During his time scrutinizing the athlete pay structure, he made tens of millions of dollars and was previously the highest-paid coach in college football.”

This all comes within the week of the deadline for the passing of the House Settlement, a class-action lawsuit involving the NCAA. The settlement would begin revenue-sharing in college sports with it also creating regulations as far as reporting on deals for NIL. Judge Claudia Wilken had given attorneys two weeks to work on some of the verbiage, specifically involving roster limits, before she’d pass the settlement with that two weeks coming up on May 7th this week on Wednesday.

The House Settlement could be within 48 hours of approval depending on how things go in court on Wednesday. That’s why those who have worked at it too this point are not interested in the last-moment efforts by those like President Trump or Saban.