Trump’s NIL Executive Order Masks Control and Racial Inequality Under Populist Rhetoric

In a move framed as a win for college athletes, Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights actually doubles down on authoritarian control and racial inequality, according to recent academic research from the University of Houston.

The order intervenes in the previously rare area of governmental oversight in intercollegiate sports, a sector historically dominated by institutional control and amateurism. But rather than expanding genuine economic opportunities for athletes, the policy reasserts amateurism and restricts third-party compensation. This curtailment of athletes’ labor rights disproportionately impacts Black athletes in high-revenue sports like football and basketball, preserving entrenched racialized hierarchies under the guise of reform.

Billy Hawkins, the article’s author, situates Trump’s NIL order within a tradition of “neo-Jacksonian” populism. Drawing parallels to Andrew Jackson’s 19th-century presidency, Hawkins argues the executive order reflects exclusionary nationalism and executive-centered governance. It claims to protect college sports but ultimately limits economic emancipation for athletes by prioritizing institutional interests over individual rights.

This executive overreach is emblematic of the Trump administration’s broader pattern of authoritarian governance—bypassing Congress, undermining democratic norms, and advancing policies that entrench inequality. The NIL order’s veneer of populism masks a preservation of power structures that benefit the few at the expense of marginalized athletes.

As college sports become an increasingly lucrative industry, this policy ensures that the economic benefits flow upward to universities and governing bodies, not to the athletes who generate the revenue. Trump’s NIL executive order is less about empowering athletes and more about tightening the grip of institutional control while maintaining racial and economic disparities.

For those concerned about democratic accountability and civil rights, this executive order is a stark reminder of how authoritarian tactics can infiltrate even unexpected arenas like college sports—using populist rhetoric to justify policies that reinforce old hierarchies and suppress genuine reform.