Score one for the NCAA resisters with unanimous Supreme Court's ruling

Joel Bauman goes by the nickname "King Bau" as a musical artist and in the octagon as a mixed martial arts fighter.

Had he chosen that nickname — or any other stage name — as a college student, he could have finished his career as a Gophers wrestler.

The NCAA gave him a choice back in 2013: Use an alias if he intends to make money off his musical talents or stop competing as a college athlete. Bauman told them to shove it.

He feels vindicated now more than ever.

Starting July 1, college athletes in a handful of states — and soon in every state — will not be forced to make the same choice that Bauman once did. They will be able to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL) in a loosening of the NCAA's death grip on its antiquated amateurism model.

The U.S. Supreme Court essentially told the NCAA to shove it this past week, too, voting 9-0 against the governing body in an antitrust case that will fundamentally change the way college sports operate.

"It's validation that we were on the right track," Bauman said by phone from Albuquerque, N.M., where he trains for his MMA career. "All of us that fought for something."

The Supreme Court ruling didn't wade into whether college athletes should earn pay-for-play compensation, focusing solely on education-related benefits, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh all but invited future lawsuits in his rebuke of the NCAA.

"The NCAA's business model would be flatly illegal in almost any other industry in America," Kavanaugh wrote. "The bottom line is that the NCAA and its member colleges are suppressing the pay of student athletes who collectively generate billions of dollars in revenue for colleges every year."

Bauman's story illustrates the NCAA's hypocrisy and sanctimonious attitude in preventing college athletes from making some extra money at a time when coaches, athletic directors and NCAA executives are becoming very wealthy on the backs of the workforce. Advocating for athletes to benefit financially off their NIL is a basic issue of fairness.

Bauman was a redshirt sophomore wrestler for the Gophers when his case caught the NCAA's attention. An aspiring rapper and music artist, he wrote a song and made a YouTube video that has been viewed nearly 100,000 times. His songs were available on iTunes.

Because he used his real name, the NCAA ruled that he violated name, image and likeness rules and was ineligible to compete. He was told there would be no issue if he used an alias. He quit the sport instead.

"I knew about the amateurism rule," he said this week, "but I was going to use this to market myself."

National media outlets, including the New York Times and Sports Illustrated, chronicled his story. He appeared on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and was featured in the documentary "The Business of Amateurs."

The NCAA's rigid stance has lacked common sense. Bauman wasn't gaining an unfair competitive advantage. He wasn't harming the school or his team. He simply loved to make music, his fans enjoyed it and he had a chance make some money off his talent. And yet the tone-deaf NCAA stood up and tried to paint Bauman's work as a threat to the sanctity of amateurism.

Bauman said it is not coincidence that he now goes by the nickname King Bau in his two careers.

"It's all a troll," he said. "People are starting to catch up, and it's hilarious."

The NCAA's lack of leadership on this issue has created chaos. A handful of individual states passed laws that will allow athletes to profit off NIL on July 1. The NCAA's request for help from Congress resulted in more chaos that made enacting a federal law by July 1 impossible. The NCAA is trying to piece together a temporary plan until permanent rules can be implemented.

What a mess.

As with any new rules, there likely will be some unintended consequences with NIL changes. Some are concerned that this movement will give unscrupulous boosters an opening to pay athletes or help entice recruits. Yes, potentially. But it's naive to think that cheating like this doesn't already happen.

Any attempt to limit athletes' earning potential undoubtedly will be challenged legally. As Kavanaugh wrote, "The NCAA is not above the law."

Bauman feels a sense of pride in taking a stand on this issue nearly a decade ago. He was right then, and he is right now.

chip.scoggins@startribune.com