Noble, yet futile: California Senate approves Student Athlete Bill of Rights

State Senate OKs bill to require more support for Pac-12 athletes

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The state Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would require California'sPac-12 Conference universities to provide additional financial and academic support for injured and low-income athletes.

 The legislation, called the Student-Athlete Bill of Rights by its sponsor, state Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), was passed by a margin of 22-15. The bill will next be considered by the Assembly.

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Assuming the Assembly passes the measure and Governor Brown signs it into law, this has no chance of ever being enforced. Notwithstanding the equal protection / equal treatment issues of forcing some schools to pay for the proposed benefits, compliance with the measure's provisions would violate so many NCAA rules that the Enforcement Division would open branch offices Sacramento, Berkeley and Los Angeles.

We all know that the NCAA's model of amateurism is completely bogus. Almost everyone agrees that the players who generate tens of millions for their schools should be somehow compensated, preferably in a system that captures the market value of their labor while protecting their rights to negotiate.

But a state legislature forcing some schools to provide a prescribed set of benefits while letting all of the others slide? Good luck with that, Senator Padilla.