John Calipari says NIL bill is "model legislation," F1 resolution "a big deal"

Senate Bill 6, Kentucky’s name, image and likeness bill, has passed the Kentucky House and will now be reviewed by Gov. Andy Beshear. One more signature before it becomes permanent legislation in the state.

The bill is one that will protect the ability for student-athletes to be compensated for their name, image and likeness, replacing the executive order Beshear signed last summer. Not only does it protect the student-athletes, it also protects the schools and staff.

“Our state legislature passed the NIL bill, went through the House,” UK basketball head coach John Calipari said Monday during his call-in radio show. “Now it goes to the governor for him to sign. Bipartisan in our state, nearly unanimous that our state legislature is coming together for our student-athletes and our universities. You’ve got to understand, this bill protects the student-athletes, and it protects the universities, the coaches, everything. If someone says, ‘You don’t need a bill, just do what you want,’ there’s no protection on either side.”

This bill allowed NIL deals to be voided once a student-athlete turns pro, protecting players and schools from potential lawsuits. It favors short-term deals like the ones Kentucky basketball players sign.

“I think people are going to read this bill from our around the country and say, ‘Why don’t we sign something like this?'” Calipari said. “I’m going to give you one thing that they did, and really, I loved it. Any contract that’s signed by a student-athlete, the minute they leave campus (and) go pro, that contract can be null and void If they choose to have it null and void. It’s different in football, football has to stay three years. You see these guys sign three-year deals.

“What if a basketball player signs a three-year deal, and after one year, he blows up and he goes pro? He’s still under that contract for two more years, his rookie year in the NBA. He may have lost $5-, $10-, or even $20-million. So this bill in the state of Kentucky only, not another state in our country. If you sign a contract and then leave school to go pro, that contract can be null and void, unless you say you want to keep it. It’s your choice. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

A resolution was also passed Monday, one that favors foreign students like Oscar Tshiebwe and Shaedon Sharpe. While it still has to go through the Senate and federal legislation may still be needed, it’s a clear sign of support from Kentucky lawmakers hoping for a fix.

“The other thing that passed today, a resolution! And again, bipartisan! For F1 students,” Calipari said. “Do you all know what an F1 student is? Foreign students. Foreign students cannot share in the name, image, and likeness. You say, ‘Why?’ Because Ronald Reagan in 1986 passed a bill that you can come over and be a student, but you can’t work. If you work, you can work 20 hours on your campus. You can’t do an internship unless it’s in your field, no off-campus.

“This is a resolution, it’s not a law. It’s saying, ‘Our state stands behind F1 students.’ Think about that. And it’s bipartisan. It’s still got to go to the Senate to pass as a resolution, but I’m so proud of our state, the legislature, the leaders. They’re about these kids, but they also understood, ‘We’ve got to protect these universities too.’ I think it’s a model legislation, the NIL. The resolution, that is a statement.”

There’s hope, Calipari says, that Homeland Security can “clarify” what foreign students are allowed to do on F1 visas. If not, a federal law will be necessary.

“Homeland Security can make a statement that they can clarify what an F1 student can do,” Calipari said. “What if he’s a cellist and he goes to Carnegie Hall and he plays? Then that cello company wants him to endorse it. You can’t, you can’t do anything that’s work. It becomes (about) if they’ll clarify it. If not, it is going to take a federal law. And I’ll be honest with you, what we’re doing is protecting our student-athletes until a federal bill gets passed.

“You could say, ‘Oh, we’ll just go wild…’ We’re not doing that here. I’m not doing that here. Our kids have a way to generate, through name, image, and likeness — other people can do it how they want to do it. Our kids have done well, and we’ve got some kids that will do even better coming forward. “

The NIL bill and F1 student-athlete resolution were both “big deals” for the state, says Calipari. He hopes both are seen as “model programs” for other states looking to follow in Kentucky’s footsteps.

“The F1 for both Shaedon (Sharpe) and Oscar (Tshiebwe). This is a big deal,” Calipari said. “Our governor who did the executive order, which was needed. Everybody says, ‘Well, you didn’t need that. We could’ve gone about it…’ Yeah, the kids needed to be protected. You could’ve done anything you wanted, which could’ve been, ‘Yeah, we’re not doing anything for a year.’ He went in and said, ‘We’re going to go in and make a statement about this.’ He did the executive order, then other states followed suit and said, ‘If they’re going to do an executive order, so are we.’ They followed Kentucky.

“I hope this name, image, and likeness bill is the same. That other schools look at it and say, ‘This is a model program, this is perfect. This is what we need.’ I’ll say again, the suits that could come out of this if there’s no legislation, I tell the people good luck. Get yourself a lawyer — and lawyers are very inexpensive. This takes care of all that stuff, so I say great job to the legislature.”

Tshiebwe merchandise went on sale Tuesday morning, while Sharpe’s first basketball trading card was released last week. It’s not an NIL free-for-all with either of them quite yet, but progress is certainly being made.

Kentucky’s resolution for F1 student-athletes is yet another step in the right direction.