The N.C.A.A., confronted with new scrutiny from the Justice Department, on Saturday all but abandoned plans for votes in the coming days that could have allowed student-athletes to profit off their fame, assuredly inflaming a debate that has drawn in governments across the country and convulsed the college sports industry. One of the N.C.A.A.’s most powerful panels had been scheduled to consider new standards on Monday afternoon. But in a letter to the Justice Department on Saturday, the N.C.A.A.’s president, Mark Emmert, said he had “strongly recommended” that the association’s governing bodies wait, effectively stepping back from pledges to lawmakers and others that college sports leaders would act this winter on the issue known as name, image and likeness. “We believe, as courts have regularly held, that our current amateurism and other rules are indeed fully compliant” with federal antitrust law, Emmert wrote to an assistant attorney general in a letter obtained by The New York Times. “Whenever we consider revisions to the rules, however, we of course receive input from many interested parties, and we welcome your invitation to consult with the department so that we can hear and fully understand its views as well.”

Source: New York Times January 09, 2021 20:27 UTC