rugby players eligible for pay

For the first time in history, players on the USD men’s club rugby team will have an opportunity for pay. They are the first club to join the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Association. NIL is a policy under the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that allows athletes to get paid for brand deals, regarding their name, image or likeness. As an NIL athlete, players are able to receive money through brands, sponsorships or other deals, as long as it is regulated under the NCAA’s specific guidelines of the NIL policy. Prior to the men’s club rugby’s announcement, the NIL was only for athletes in the NCAA. Although the NIL allows athletes in all three divisions of the NCAA to make money off of their brand, the NCAA’s rules of integrity, such as unfair recruiting or bribery, still applies to the athletes. According to ncaa.org, the Division I Board of Directors approved of the NIL policy in June 2021, even if the athlete’s state does not have suburb in Brooklyn. He was raised by two immigrant parents, his mother from Latvia and his father from Poland. Gary went on to college at the University at Albany in Albany, New York, where he played lacrosse all four years.

After graduating, Gary moved to Los Angeles to attend chiropractic school. He then relocated to San Diego and opened his own chiropractic practice, which he owned for 38 years. At the same time, he also bartended at a hotel and taught spin classes. Gary kept this busy lifestyle for many years, until the COVID-19 pandemic hit and affected each of his jobs, ultimately leaving him temporarily unemployed.

“I retired during COVID19. The chiropractic business became unobtainable,” Gary stated. “It became a mess to be a chiropractor during COVID19, the hotel closed, and then the gyms closed. So I was unemployed for a couple of years, just living hand to mouth.”

During his unemployment, Gary had a discussion with his longtime girlfriend, who has worked at USD for 29 years.

“I told her in that period — when I wasn’t working — that I wanted to be the guy in the

See Gary, Page 8

See

See

See