Supporters of the College Sports Protection Act are working to get this bill passed in the Senate before the body recesses in the coming weeks. With the start of the college football season, advocates of this law have exerted significant pressure to advance the bill.
Objective of the College Sports Protection Act
This bill seeks to impose restrictions on rising costs in college sports, as the industry adapts to a new model where schools can pay players. The bill, which has the backing of major conferences, Senate leadership, and President Donald Trump, faces opposition that could hinder its passage before the Senate's fall recess.
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Chris Murphy, Democratic Senator from Connecticut, told reporters, "This multi-billion dollar bill protects coaches and sports industry executives who profit from suppressing compensation for some of the world's most valuable athletes." He added, "What is being asked of us is to effectively allow universities and conferences and the NCAA to collude illegally."
Support and Opposition
Murphy's opposition followed a high-profile effort by Ted Cruz, Republican Senator and one of the bill's supporters. Cruz appeared on ESPN's "College GameDay" and spent about 10 minutes explaining why this law is important, while the University of Texas crowd in the background loudly protested him.
The bill, introduced in late May by Cruz and Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington, has been discussed over the summer and is now back in the spotlight. Cruz stated at a press conference in Washington that he expects the Senate to vote on it this week or next week and hopes the bill will pass with broad support from both sides.
Notable supporters of this bill include Cody Campbell, a billionaire and Texas Tech graduate, Nick Saban, former Alabama coach, and Deion Sanders, current Colorado coach. Saban said in an advertisement, "The College Sports Protection Act ends the NIL chaos in college sports and protects student-athletes and teams while safeguarding women's sports and Olympic programs."
However, there are questions about the necessary support to get this bill past the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the body, and Democrats are trying to flip the Senate in the November midterm elections, which could complicate legislative plans.
Murphy is one of the most vocal critics and said he will work with those opposing the bill to urge his colleagues to once again attempt to introduce amendments that do not compromise the health and safety of student-athletes.
He also criticized the concept of chaos currently and said, "This bill has nothing to do with protecting college sports."
In a separate effort by Congress to regulate college sports, two other Republicans, Tim Walberg from Michigan and John Husted from Ohio, introduced a bill on Monday that limits the number of international athletes to more than 20 percent of each sports team.
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Source: abcnews.com
