N.C. public high school athletes can’t make NIL $
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Much of the governing power of high school athletics was taken away from the N.C. High School Athletic Association last year, when state legislators decided it would be a good idea for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to have that power.
Since then, the DPI has pretty much deferred day-to-day operations to the NCHSAA with veto power. That is, until last week.
The NCHSAA adopted rules in 2023 that would allow student-athletes the ability, under certain guidelines, to profit off of their name, image and likeness, better known as NIL. That was the case up until DPI passed a policy on Amateur Rules for Interscholastic Athletics that prohibits athletes in schools that are in the NCHSAA from profiting off of their NIL.
A total of 31 states have made policies that allows their student-athletes to profit from NIL. What makes this even more problematic for North Carolina public schools is private schools in the state do allow the student-athletes to profit from NIL.
A problem will occur when public schools have an exceptional athlete and a private school comes calling. They will likely not only be able to offer better educational opportunities, but also a chance for the student to earn money off of their NIL.
Private schools already come after some of the best athletes at public schools, even in far-western North Carolina. Garrett Clapsaddle, an outstanding baseball player at Murphy High School, was lured away by better educational opportunities and more exposure at Asheville School.
Other examples include Robert Turner of Murphy, who took his baseball skills to Rabun Gap, Ga.; Tucker Holloway of Andrews, who today plays college football after honoring his skills to Rabun Gap; and Bryce Sain of Swain County was recruited to Asheville School. And these cases were all before any NIL deals were in place.
You can’t really blame parents or the kids. In many cases, an athletic scholarship is equivalent to a $30,000-a-year college prep education, with the chance for more exposure, as many private schools travel outside of the state to compete, depending on what sport.
The Smoky Mountain Conference seldom sees an elite athlete capable of playing Division I college football. What would happen if an athlete like Carl Pickens or Heath Shuler showed up at a local high school today? In this climate, do you think a public high school would be able to hold onto that athlete?
The DPI has kicked the door wide open for the private schools to recruit even harder.
Hopefully, after taking another look at this, they will rescind the ruling, but don’t hold your breath. When has anything the state has done lately with sports made any sense?
J.R. Carroll is a staff correspondent for the Cherokee Scout. Email him at jcarroll8760@gmail.com.