Draymond On The NCAA: 'Someone Needs To Force This Dictatorship To Change'
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has never kept himself in check when it comes to whether or not college athletes should be allowed to make money from endorsement deals.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed landmark legislation Monday allowing athletes at California colleges to receive financial compensation starting in 2023. Hours later, Green was rather outspoken about it at the Golden State Warriors media day.
"Kudos to him (Newsom)," Green said. "I think it will definitely help move the needle when you start talking about the state of California, how much weight this state holds. For this state to be the first to do that is very special."
"As a former college athlete that's exciting. When you spend so much time at college broke. No money and yet everybody else was living very well. The university is making a ton of money off your likeness. It is like he (Newsom) used the word 'bankrupt' model...It does not make any sense. I can make all the money off your likeness and the moment you decide to make some money off your likeness, you can't play here anymore. You're ineligible. You're suspended."
Then Green put the NCAA in his crosshairs.
"Someone needs to force this dictatorship to change," he said of the NCAA. "That's exactly what it is. It's no different than any country that's ran by dictators. The NCAA is a dictatorship."
Green wasn't alone in his praise for the new law. Several of his other teammates also supported Newsom's action.
"I think that it's time," said Glenn Robinson III. "A lot of people are waking up and starting to see how much money these universities and colleges are making off of players, and I think that it's important to know -- it's important to know that they do matter. I think I've seen a lot of guys, even in my case where I went to school, a lot of players couldn't afford lunch ... So I think we'll start to see a lot of changes, so I'm happy that they're trying to kind of implement something to kind of help those kids out."
Jordan Poole, who the Warriors took in the NBA Draft after a standout career at Michigan, also welcomed the new law. As a Wolverine, he hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer in the second round of the NCAA tournament as millions watched on TV.
"I know for sure I would have been using my name after that Houston shot," he said, adding that letting athletes make money on endorsements is "huge for the game."