CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Last week, U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to follow through on its commitment to protecting international college athletes’ ability to exercise their rights to their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) without fear of losing their lawful status as students at American colleges.
In a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the senators asked for an update from the department on the steps it is taking to allow international athletes to benefit from recent changes to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) policies that allow college athletes to monetize their NIL.
“Last year, in Senate oversight hearings and in response to a previous letter requesting guidance and rulemaking, you committed to moving as quickly as you can on providing these important protections for foreign college athletes. Unfortunately, despite that commitment to move quickly, DHS still has not updated its rules a year later. As a result, international students have gone another year without legal protections or clarity, leading star athletes to turn down opportunities, go through extreme hoops to stay in good standing with their visas, or consider leaving school.” the senators wrote.
Full text of the letter is available here.
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