"California's new law allowing college athletes to be paid is a step in the right direction"

“There is growing evidence that athletic scholarships fall short of the rising costs of attending college, as do most other scholarships. Difficulty paying their bills reduces the odds that student-athletes will graduate from college, especially those from families without wealth. Just over 55% of black male student-athletes graduate within six years, compared with 60% of all black undergraduate men, 69.3% of all student-athletes and 76.3% of all undergraduate students.

Last week, California Governor Newsom signed a law that will allow student-athletes the opportunity to earn money from the time and talent they invest in school sports. If the law survives the various legal challenges ahead, student-athletes will be able to seek compensation for the use of their images — their personal brands — and engage agents to represent them in the marketplace. In an interview with The New York Times, Governor Newsom noted, “Every single student in the university can market their name, image and likeness; they can go and get a YouTube channel, and they can monetize that…The only group that can’t are athletes. Why is that?”

Read more on Salon.com.