The U.S. Senate approved sweeping legislation Monday aimed at reshaping the economics and governance of college athletics, delivering a bipartisan victory to lawmakers who have spent years seeking a national framework for an industry transformed by athlete compensation and increasingly aggressive competition for talent.
The Protect College Sports Act passed 77-22 and would establish federal standards covering issues including athlete compensation, transfers and eligibility, replacing a collection of state rules and court-driven policies, according to Politico.
The legislation has been a priority for Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and the committee’s ranking Democrat, Maria Cantwell of Washington. President Donald Trump also supports the measure and wants to sign it quickly, Politico reported.
Despite the wide Senate margin, the legislation faces an uncertain path in the House, where Republican lawmakers have raised objections to several provisions in the Senate bill, according to Politico. Opposition from labor and civil-rights organizations has also fueled divisions among Democrats.
Cruz argued during Senate debate that Congress needed to bring stability to a college sports system disrupted by litigation, varying state laws and frequent athlete transfers.
“Conflicting court decisions have created a fragmented system,” Cruz said, according to Politico, which reported on his remarks from the Senate floor. He said the changes were needed to protect opportunities for athletes to compete while receiving an education.
Supporters contend that the escalating competition for athletes and spending by major football and basketball programs threatens less lucrative sports, including women’s and Olympic programs.
Cantwell called the measure historic and said the existing system is diverting resources from universities’ educational missions into an increasingly expensive competition for athletic talent, according to Politico.
“We need to stop stealing money out of college [and] university institutions for education, for tuition, for professors, and putting it into an arms race on sports,” Cantwell said, as quoted by Politico.
The debate nevertheless exposed opposition within the Democratic Party as some lawmakers questioned whether the legislation sufficiently protects athletes, particularly Black athletes who generate substantial revenue for major college sports programs. The AFL-CIO and NAACP oppose the legislation, Politico reported.
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Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey emerged as one of the Act’s most prominent Democratic critics. Booker, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, questioned the Senate’s decision to devote time to the measure as lawmakers prepared to leave Washington to campaign ahead of the midterm elections.
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Booker pointed to gasoline and diesel prices, health-care costs and overseas conflict as more pressing concerns and criticized Congress for moving ahead while athlete organizations, labor groups, civil-rights advocates and sexual-assault survivors were urging lawmakers to proceed more cautiously, according to Politico.
“What does this say about our priorities?” Booker said on the Senate floor.
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke, a New York Democrat, separately criticized the legislation. Clarke told Politico in an interview last week that the measure fails to “center the lives of the athletes.”
Economic concerns also surfaced during consideration of amendments. Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana proposed limiting increases in ticket prices by schools and athletic conferences, arguing that such restrictions could protect fans during a period of heightened concern about affordability, Politico reported.
Cruz opposed Kennedy’s proposal, saying restrictions could prevent schools from adjusting prices in response to changing market conditions. The Senate rejected the amendment.
Lawmakers did approve an amendment from Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina that would require disclosure of foreign financing in intercollegiate athletics, according to Politico.
The Senate vote represents a major step toward creating a national regulatory structure for college athletics after years of upheaval over how athletes can earn money and move between schools. But the disagreement awaiting in the House means Monday’s vote may not translate quickly into a bill for Trump to sign.
Source: Politico
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