Do the cheerleaders not own their likeness and image?
The NCAA has taken a lot of heat recently from professional football players. It has also taken heat from several NBA players in recent times. The issue for these athletes is the exploitation of athletes’ images and likenesses for profit.
The major case to exemplify this issue is Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M. While at A&M, Manziel wanted to use his image and likeness for profit. However, he was told that his image and likeness could not be used for profit because it would violate his amateur status as a “student-athlete”.
However, the NCAA openly marketed Johnny Manziel and his “Johnny Football” moniker for profit. At one time, one could search the official NCAA website for Johnny Manziel and a No. 2 Texas A&M jersey would be a result. There are instances where schools, Northwestern University in particular, have tried to unionize their players as a means of getting fair compensation.
The NCAA is exploiting athletes for profit for its member schools. The NCAA’s defense on this issue is that “student-athletes” are being compensated by having the opportunity for a first class education.
So what is the NFL’s excuse? The Cowboys have created and sold items with the cheerleaders personal image for profit. Compensation for those images were $8/hour? In what world is this acceptable? In every other walk of life, a person can profit from his likeness and image. So should professional cheerleaders.