In recent decades, we’ve become accustomed here in the U.S. to a horribly divided government, particularly the legislative branch.
Whether the cause is gerrymandering, obstinance or obsolete rules that essentially require a supermajority of votes in the Senate to get things done, the Congress is hopelessly bogged in a quagmire where good legislation goes to die.
There are times, however, when that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Take a current bill working its way through the House, which, if enacted, would place restrictions on college athletes, just when they’ve begun to break free of shackles that have held them down for years.
The bill, dubbed the SCORE Act, would provide antitrust exemptions to the NCAA, the college sports governing body and to athletic conferences as well as permit those organizations to bypass state laws regarding name, image and likeness rules to provide a federal structure.
Also, under the SCORE Act, the conferences and the NCAA would be able to pool their media rights, by amending a 1961 sports broadcasting law, theoretically distributing resources among the many, rather than keeping them with the few big leagues.
Those are, seemingly, worthwhile endeavors, as the world of intercollegiate athletics has devolved into every man for himself since NIL has come to the fore.
But here’s the rub: The SCORE Act would ensure that college athletes could not be classified as employees for the purpose of collective bargaining or for organizing into a union to protect their rights.
The fact that the commissioners of each of the 31 Division I conferences put their own considerable self-interests aside to sign a joint letter to the chairmen and top-ranking Democrats of three House committees should be a red flag to House members, despite the bipartisan nature of the bill.
Meanwhile, Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, has offered a competing bill that would address some of the concerns raised by the college officials, but not all.
Dubbed the Student Athlete Fairness Enforcement or SAFE Act. Cantwell’s bill would amend the broadcasting law, but would not provide antitrust protection and does not broach what to do about the status of athletes as employees.
While the SCORE Act has gained some support in the House, it has yet to come up for a vote in the House. Cantwell, on the other hand, has not picked up any Republican sponsors.
Given the byzantine Senate filibuster rule that requires a 60-vote majority to pass most pieces of legislation, neither the SCORE nor SAFE Act seems to have much of a chance of passage.
And that’s probably a good thing. This mess started in the colleges and they shouldn’t leave it to a place that is already a mess to clean up for them.
And that’s how I see it for this week. You can reach us via email with your questions and comments at Sports at Large at gmail.com. And follow me on BlueSky, Threads and X at Sports at Large.
Until next week, for all of us here and for producer Lisa Morgan, I’m Milton Kent. Thanks for listening. Enjoy the games.
