My senior year my routine went viral with over 100 million views. “Amazing routine!” “Best performer in the country!” Along with this came a lot of attention and opportunities. But I couldn’t capitalize on them. “One of the biggest stars in collegiate gymnastics …” “Katelyn Ohashi …” I was handcuffed by the N.C.A.A. rules that prevented me from deriving any benefit from my own name and likeness regardless of the fact that after my final meet I had no pro league to join. The N.C.A.A. is a billion- dollar industry built on the backs of college athletes. How different would things be for me had I been able to use my image and name my last year of school in order to promote the things that I want to further my future? I want to make sure that the next person doesn’t have to wonder. “And now there’s some big news in California” “Gov. Gavin Newsom signed ... ” “... their ‘Fair Pay to Play’ bill.” “It allows college athletes to be paid for their name, their image and their likeness.” “It’s going to set up this huge showdown between the State of California and the N.C.A.A.” “The N.C.A.A. will likely challenge this in court.” The “Fair Pay to Play Act” is not about paying salaries to college athletes. It’s about empowering student athletes to rightfully earn off their individual name and likeness without sacrificing the opportunity to get an education. It’s about making sure if a student-athlete’s jersey is still selling in the bookstore 10 years after graduation, that they get a cut. It’s about recognizing that women only receive 4 percent of all coverage in sports media, and giving us the freedom to leverage sponsored deals to break through. It’s about treating student athletes with the same respect as any other student who can freely profit off their talent as writers, artists, D.J.s, programmers or scientists while in college. Critics say that allowing student athletes to earn endorsement income will come at the expense of Title IX or nonrevenue-generating sports. But from experience, allowing an athlete, especially women or Olympic sport athletes who, for the most part are staying and graduating from N.C.A.A. institutions, to take advantage of unexpected moments like I had, empowers us to help finally earn what we deserve.