Many basketball players competing in the men’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)’s first tournament of 2021 have taken to social media to criticize the sports governing body for colleges. 

Athletes have criticized NCAA for not allowing them to get compensation for their names, images and likeness being used, reported The Washington Post. 

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Rutgers guard Geo Baker took to Twitter on Wednesday saying that “anything less than equal rights is never enough.”

“Someone on [a] music scholarship can profit from an album. Someone on academic scholarship can have a tutor service, ” he tweeted. 

He added, “I am #NotNCAAProperty.”

Announcing the protest, executive director of the advocacy group of NCAA, Ramogi Huma in a statement said the hashtag #NotNCAAProperty is being used “to underscore their concern that the NCAA too often treats college athletes like dollar signs rather than people.”

According to the statement, the basketball players are encouraged to get representation and receive compensation by July 1. It urges the Supreme Court to rule in favour of the NCAA case for rules on athletes compensation. 

Meetings with President Biden’s administration and NCAA president Mark Emmert will be encouraging legislation to give college athletes “physical, academic, and financial protections.”

The hashtag “#NotNCAAProperty” fast gained support on Twitter as other athletes also expressed their opinions on the matter. 

Alabama’s Jahvon Quinerly tweeted, “Though I am completely focused on competing with my teammates going forward, I must say since it is a topic of discussion, the NCAA has not allowed me or my brothers to profit off our GLOBAL ‘JellyFam’ movement that took social media by storm years ago.”

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“This is a movement that has the potential to not only put ourselves in better positions financially but our families as well. Meanwhile, people were able to make their own profits off our movement since we could do nothing with it in order to keep our NCAA eligibility alive. #NotNCAAproperty,” he further wrote. 

Virginia Tech’s Wabissa Bede and Cordell Pemsl, and Wichita State’s Dexter Dennis and Livers, Bohannon, were other players who joined the conversation.

Steve Pikiell, Baker and Harper’s coach also supported the players saying, ”

We’re a players program. They have platforms now to speak out, and that’s great. I remember being a student-athlete myself, and we had a lot of opinions. We just didn’t have social media to share it. They have a voice, and we have great kids. They want change too. There’s a lot in this world that needs to be changed.”