Los Angeles Rams’ Todd Gurley showed his feelings Thursday, donning a simple message about the NCAA on a t-shirt at his press conference.
Using the acronym of the governing body over college athletics, Gurley’s shirt read “Not Concerned About Athletes.”
“I’ll just let my shirt speak for itself,” Gurley said with a sly smile, according to USA Today.
“Just being a college athlete and obviously going through suspension and all that stuff, you’ve got to see both sides of it,” he added. “Obviously everyone has their own opinion, but I’m always for the athlete. So more ways for the athletes to make some decent money off their name, for sure, they deserve it.”
As a junior at the University of Georgia, Gurley was suspended for four games during the 2014 season for pocketing a reported $2,000 in exchange for signed memorabilia.
The shirt debuted 10 days after California signed its image and likeness bill, which will allow athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness without losing their scholarships. To be clear, the bill allows for sponsorships and endorsements, it does not position the schools to pay its student-athletes.
The NCAA responded to the bill by asking California to reconsider and warning that if it does not, the 58 NCAA schools in the state will be prohibited from sanctioned events because of the unfair advantage provided by the piece of legislation.
