UNC Women’s Tennis: Fiona Crawley faces tough situation

While many North Carolina Tar Heels are benefitting from the NIL rules, one standout tennis player had to make a difficult decision regarding it.

Since the Name, Image, & Likeness rules were put into effect by the NCAA, we’ve heard plenty about student-athletes across the country being able to benefit from the brand they are creating.

While there are still plenty of issues regarding the NIL world, one situation involving a star UNC women’s tennis player has been at the forefront of the news as of late.

Fiona Crawley, who is a student-athlete at the University of North Carolina, recently had the opportunity to compete in the US Open. While competing, Crawley, who is an active member of the UNC Women’s Tennis team, earned a staggering $81,000 for her efforts in the event.

However, Crawley was unable to accept any of the money that she earned.

If Crawley would have accepted the money, she would have immediately lost her college eligibility. Given the situation, the star tennis player recently voiced her opinion on the matter:

"“I’d never take the money & never risk my eligibility. But I worked my butt off this week. It seems unreal that there are football & basketball players making millions in NIL deals, & I can’t take the money I worked so hard for.”"

You can understand Crawley’s frustration, especially given that she’s a college student who had to turn down a large sum of money for something she accomplished. As she states in the interview below with ABC News, Crawley believes the NIL is an incredible opportunity for student-athletes but is using her platform to advocate for future college athletes who may want to compete in professional events like the US Open.

It’s an unfortunate situation for Fiona Crawley, who had to make a very tough decision in order to be able to play out her senior season with the UNC women’s tennis team. Hopefully, Crawley shedding light on this issue will have an impact on some rule changes that help athletes like her earn some well-earned monetary profits.

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