A Republican lawmaker wants to introduce legislation separating public and private high school sports if NIL rules are implemented in the First State.
State Senator Eric Buckson is clear. He’s against putting any Name, Image, and Likeness regulations in place in Delaware.
Buckson considers NIL an attack to the integrity of athletes, and says the state is better off without it.
"My intent is that NIL is an affront to everything that I consider to be what it means to be an amateur athlete, and Delaware I think - a small state - needs to hold on to that. I am not concerned with what other states do," said Buckson.
He adds he wants to maintain the integrity of the athletes in Delaware, and he says if someone wants to challenge it in court, it will be dealt with then.
But the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Department of Education State Board of Education are moving toward approving NIL rules. If they do, Buckson says he will act.
"I'm going to introduce legislation that would in essence separate private schools from public schools when it comes to state championships,” said Buckson. “That's what I would like to see happen if we're going to do NIL, fine we're going to do it, but then we're going to separate the two from state competition because the evidence is very clear right now that the advantage is extremely one-sided in private schools favor."
Buckson says the numbers back him up. Last year over 62% of state championships in team sports were won by private schools. Buckson believes NIL will make it even more lopsided.
He argues the financial advantage private schools have will only become greater if NIL is instituted in Delaware.
