It’s not exactly a new take on NIL for former players to be against it. But what is new is that one of the greatest college basketball players of all time, one who would have greatly benefited from the implementation of name, image, and likeness, would be so vehemently against it.
On the 32nd anniversary of Christian Laettner’s iconic game-winner, he said that NIL should be removed altogether. It’s ironic that the former Duke Blue Devils legend went on Mike Greenberg’s #Greeny show, among other radio show appearances, on Thursday to talk about one of the most famous plays in the sport’s history, only to sound the alarm about its current state.
As Greenberg told Laettner, the sport has gone through two revolutions, so to speak, since he was last in college more than three decades ago. There was the one-and-done era, and now, there’s the NIL and transfer portal era, where the sport has dramatically changed again.
“They gotta take out the NIL,” Laettner said. “They gotta wipe that out. They gotta change the transfer portal. I know everyone’s saying the horse is out of the barn, and you can’t take stuff back, but how can you establish any type of culture at a school when you’re getting new kids every year? That would mean every year was like my freshman year at Duke; and you’re so much better your third, your fourth year when you’re under one system, one program, one coach, one specifically defined culture, the way you want to play offense, the way you want to play defense. I don’t know how the coaches do it in today’s game, and that’s why some of the better ones are starting to quit.”
It’s unclear who he means by some of the better coaches. Jim Boeheim (79), Mike Krzyzewski (77) and Roy Williams (73) who have all walked away from the game in recent years are all well into their 70s. So, sure, they could be unhappy with where the sport is headed, but we can’t pretend like age isn’t a factor either. The only name that may add some validity to that argument is the 62-year-old Jay Wright, who has a newfound career in the media.
While the sport’s overall health can be disputed, this year’s NCAA Tournament continues to have an average record viewership.
Yes, there’s certainly a point to be made about the transfer portal. And most people would likely agree with Dan Hurley’s take that you shouldn’t be able to change teams like you change underwear. Perhaps the transfer portal needs to be fixed, but the solution to NIL shouldn’t be to eliminate it. And Laettner has to know at least that he would’ve significantly benefitted from it during his playing days.
[Mediaite]
