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West Virginia became the 44th state to legalize this trend that originated at the college level in 2021.

Opinion on this is clearly mixed and may lean against NIL in the Mountain State.

I ran a poll on my X page asking, "Does name, image and likeness belong in high school athletics, especially in West Virginia?" It got 159 votes.

As my former boss Hoppy Kercheval always said, "This is anecdotal, not scientific." But 76% of voters said "no," 18% answered "yes," 5% "maybe" and 1% "unsure."

We've seen that NIL can create turmoil, especially at the NCAA Division I level. Another word: it's mayhem.

Now, I will give credit to the WVSSAC, as the language of its policy is different than the NCAA's:

• "Student-athletes are prohibited from making any reference to a member school or the WVSSAC when engaging in NIL activity."
• "Student-athletes may not wear the apparel or display the logo, insignia or identifying mark of an NIL partner during any team activities."
• "No school or anyone employed by a member school, including coaches and administrators, may be involved with a student-athlete's use of their NIL."

This, while some may disagree, is the right way to do it, so schools aren't paying athletes to come to their school and compete -- as WVSSAC Executive Director Wayne Ryan called it, a "pay-for-play" system.

Why I don't like it

Do I think West Virginia needed this legislation for prep athletes? No.

We live in one of the poorest states in the country. So, what we have done is opened up a market for athletes in this state to compete with Florida, California and Pennsylvania, among others.

Also, this wasn't an SSAC decision to make. There were constant discussions by our elected representatives under the golden dome about this type of legislation.

I do believe that this sort of pay-for-play has occurred forever, and that goes for all states, not just West Virginia.

Is it ethical to hand a teenager a check of a few hundred or even a thousand dollars? No for some, but for others, maybe.

The other side of the aisle

I have been a proponent of college athletes receiving compensation for their personal brand, if it's done the right way.

I'm not talking, you're the No. 1 quarterback in your class and you get a nice duffel bag of cash. I'm talking, you go to a college, then work with a brand while getting paid.

If it's done the right way, which, dare I say, I hope it is, then this could help players in West Virginia create a financial portfolio that could help them after high school.

Not every athlete in West Virginia is going to play college athletics after high school. There's a small number of those that do, especially at the Division I level.

Sorry, parents.

I think it could also be an interesting era for companies' marketing within certain communities.

Say there's a local shop that wants to build its brand and get the best local athlete at the nearest school to do a brief video for social media.

That company could see an increase in sales and foot traffic, simply based off a little video. What harm is that going to do?

This could be looked at as a helpful tool, rather than a destructive one.

Building the future

Now, again, I'm all for an athlete getting paid for their brand, if it's done the right way.

However, if athletes get money for their brand, then there should be a program set in place for them to learn what to do with that money.

Thinking like a teenager: If we get a stack of cash or a nice check, that makes our day. What's our first instinct? Spend it.

That's human nature. We want immediate gratification.

So, if a teenager is paid a handsome sum of money, then they'll want to buy something and show it off -- the newest iPhone, Apple Watch, laptop or whatever it is.

But, as adults, we need to educate our youths, especially our high school students, on how to save for their future and build it now, rather than get into debt and possibly stay there for a long time.

Say I get paid $5,000 while in high school. With the proper programs in place, I will have learned to have some money to live on while saving some of that money because, again, not every athlete will play college sports.

For most of those who do play college sports, their whole college experience won't be paid for. Where will that money come from?

If this athlete has saved that money, they're making college one less thing they or their parents have to worry about financially.

So, I believe if we can create a program (note, I don't know who will do it, so please don't yell at me) to help our athletes, this can provide much-needed financial literacy for our young people.

Why don't we get ahead of the curve and set the standard of how to do this NIL world in prep athletics the right way?

Higher-ups

I interviewed George Washington girls basketball coach Jamie LaMaster in 2023 about the then-new free-transfer law.

He gave a quote that continues to resonate within the realm of West Virginia high school athletics.

"You have non-athletic people making athletic decisions," LaMaster said.

The Mountain State has so many alarming and unaddressed issues that aren't discussed enough, like undrinkable water, poverty, drug addiction, and, according to U.S. News & World Report, our national ranking of 47th in education.

Why we feel the need to instead stick our hand in the cookie jar continuously with high school athletics is the ultimate head-scratcher.

There are bigger fish to fry than opening up a chaotic transfer rule and now allowing high school and middle school athletes the ability to earn compensation for sports.

All we're trying to do is keeping up with the times, which I understand, but there are other ways to do so other than what's occurred in the last three years.