On Monday morning, the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling against the NCAA which stated, in essence, that limits on player-athelte benefits like technology, scholarships, and internships -- among other things -- can’t be enforced. And while the NCAA's model of amateurism wasn't totally dismantled by the ruling, many view Monday's decision as a landmark step towards achieving that eventual goal. But what does it mean in the immediate future? USA Today national columnist Dan Wolken called into 610's The Drive to break it down:
"This was a wipeout by the Supreme Court of the NCAA," Wolken said. "It was a 9-0 ruling, in which they affirmed the lower court's ruling that said that the NCAA cannot limit benefits offered to athletes that are tied to education ... It's not 'pay for play.'"
"I think what you see here in the ruling here is that there are going to be more challenges now. The foundation has been laid against the NCAA's system, and it's open season on amateurism. There's going to be more cases that come forward, and we'll see what the NCAA does here. The significance of it, in my mind, is that the NCAA sort of dictating the terms of how it does business is hanging in the balance right now. This court just does not believe that the NCAA should be allowed to limit these things, and that's a pretty big deal."
You can listen to Wolken's entire interview in the embedded player below: