NBA agents and representation firms are planning to take action and a stand against the NCAA.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, NBA agencies and representation firms, large and small, plan to boycott the NCAA’s mandatory agent testing set to take place in November.
The boycott is presumably in response to the so-called Rich Paul Rule that drew attention earlier this summer.
In the initial rule, that was revised a mere six hours after its initial release, agents such as Paul who did not have a bachelor’s degree were prohibited from representing players who planned to enter into the NBA Draft process.
Paul, CEO of Klutch Sports, responded in a op-ed piece rebuking the NCAA’s rule and a national conversation sparked as a result of the rule and its perception against agents such as Paul.
The NCAA surprisingly modified the rule in response to Paul’s rebuke and others who heavily criticized the rule.
Thursday, all NBA agents and firms were sent a memo reminding them to register for the mandatory testing by September 30th.
Charania reports that a number of agencies do not plan on participating in the in-person exam in November.
News of agencies planning to boycott demonstrate the backlash that the initial rule received and the negative perception that it appears agencies hold of the NCAA.
It will be interesting to see how this continues to unfold moving forward and what response the NCAA will have to this news.
Flip the page to see the discussion around the Rich Paul Rule.