Senator Richard Burr appears on CBS (Youtube/screen grab)
On Tuesday, the leadership of the NCAA announced they would be rescinding a longtime, controversial rule that prohibits college athletes from pursuing sponsorship deals and profiting from their likeness. This is something both the association and conservative sports fans have long opposed, claiming that students — despite making their schools billions of dollars — shouldn't get compensated beyond their sports scholarships.
One Republican lawmaker, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), took it a step further, tweeting that if students can receive this compensation, he will seek to tax their financial aid as income:
If college athletes are going to make money off their likenesses while in school, their scholarships should be trea… https://t.co/TMAumL6yO7— Richard Burr (@Richard Burr) 1572377336.0
Burr immediately drew criticism from commenters on social media:
@SenatorBurr Ooo. How bout a Scholarship actor who appears in a movie? You didn't think this through. It will end… https://t.co/uon0oPqmoO— Cap (@Cap) 1572378222.0
@SenatorBurr If their scholarship is income, that makes them employees of the university, and eligible for all the… https://t.co/6CQoxe1cCS— Information Junkie (@Information Junkie) 1572378977.0
@SenatorBurr Hypocrite! https://t.co/PgXEXPP21c— Battle Axe (@Battle Axe) 1572381532.0
@SenatorBurr As a life long conservative, this is something I would expect from a liberal Democrat. What is going on here?— Shermichael Singleton (@Shermichael Singleton) 1572379058.0
@SenatorBurr Approximately 60% of college basketball and football players are black. I wonder why Richard Burr sud… https://t.co/2IhvEgH77p— Christopher J. Hale (@Christopher J. Hale) 1572379358.0
@SenatorBurr This is deeply cynical and racist even for you. I never stop being surprised! Why do you care more abo… https://t.co/nUrwoL53pX— Molly Knight (@Molly Knight) 1572378685.0
@SenatorBurr @wilnerhotline Why target poor black kids while you cut taxes for the wealthiest white Americans. I think I know!— Molly Knight (@Molly Knight) 1572378196.0
@SenatorBurr How about you first work on fixing this? https://t.co/JxuCceDchj— Max Kennerly (@Max Kennerly) 1572380204.0
@SenatorBurr Increasing taxes on low income students of color while cutting them for rich white people. Why use a d… https://t.co/H38hGtSU4w— Laura Chapin (@Laura Chapin) 1572379075.0
If college athletes are going to make money off their likenesses while in school, their scholarships should be trea… https://t.co/TMAumL6yO7— Richard Burr (@Richard Burr) 1572377336.0
