From 2020 to 2024, the United States Congress held 11 hearings pertaining to name, image, and likeness (NIL). Various stakeholder groups have participated in these hearings including Congress and those looking to “maintain” or “disrupt” college sport and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Despite the significance of NIL to college athletics, limited research has examined these hearings and the messages communicated within them. Thus, critical discourse analysis and agenda setting theory were used to shed light on the language surrounding NIL through the Congressional hearings. Findings demonstrate the aforementioned groups’—Congress, “Maintainers,” and “Disruptors”—used narrative framing and topic selection, resulting in conflicting agendas and mixed messaging. Implications include improved communicative and political strategies for NIL stakeholders, enhanced NIL education for college athletes, and the extension of agenda setting theory to sport communication.

中文翻译：

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“你不想让我们解决这个问题”：联邦听证会上关于姓名、图像和肖像的议程设置


从 2020 年到 2024 年，美国国会举行了 11 次有关姓名、图像和肖像 (NIL) 的听证会。各种利益相关者团体都参加了这些听证会，包括国会和那些希望“维持”或“破坏”大学体育和国家大学体育协会（NCAA）的人。尽管 NIL 对大学体育具有重要意义，但对这些听证会及其中传达的信息进行了有限的研究。因此，批判性话语分析和议程设置理论被用来通过国会听证会来阐明围绕 NIL 的语言。调查结果表明，上述群体——国会、“维护者”和“破坏者”——使用了叙事框架和主题选择，导致议程相互冲突和信息混杂。其影响包括改进 NIL 利益相关者的沟通和政治策略、加强对大学运动员的 NIL 教育以及将议程设置理论扩展到体育传播。