Last week, President Donald Trump announced an executive order protecting college sports. This is an important step to end the pernicious assault on the industry by labor agitators and plaintiff attorneys.
But to truly save the industry, Trump should work with Congress to pass critical legislation to save college sports.
The good news is that Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., recently introduced the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act in the House of Representatives. This bill will empower governing bodies in intercollegiate athletics to regulate the industry by providing an exemption to antitrust legislation similar to that enjoyed by Major League Baseball since the 1920s. The bill recently advanced through committee and is on track for a full House vote.
The SCORE Act is needed to prevent college sports from being sucked into a web of litigation that will ultimately threaten it with insolvency or, worse, become a unionized, for-profit, professionalized system that would be a shadow of its former self. The bill faces significant opposition from the Left, the legacy media, and special interests, who would prefer to see the pastime destroyed.
To understand how we got here, we need to rewind to the surging popularity of broadcast television in the latter part of the 20th century. Initially, this mode of dissemination was seen as a competitor to in-person attendance and was restricted by the NCAA. In response, the schools and conferences pursued legal action, ultimately leading to the landmark 1984 Supreme Court decision in NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, whereby the NCAA was ruled to have violated antitrust rules. This disintermediated the NCAA from a lion’s share of college sports revenue and severely undermined its ability to act as an overriding regulator.
Today, we are witnessing name, image, and likeness (NIL) arrangements (essentially a form of sponsorship for college athletes), transfer portal activity, third-party agents, and conduct that is largely unfettered except through a patchwork of conflicting state laws.
The alternative to an antitrust exemption would be for student athletes and colleges and universities to engage in collective bargaining arrangements, which presupposes an employer-employee relationship between the parties. While this option of fully professionalizing intercollegiate athletics is highly touted by leftists and labor activists, it carries substantial negative consequences that are not well understood.
First and foremost, it would eradicate the charitable status that college sports have enjoyed throughout their existence and severely reduce or eliminate the ability of revenue-generating sports to subsidize non-revenue sports. Further, the loss of 501(c)(3) status would prohibit athletics programs from soliciting tax-deductible donations that many programs use to balance their budgets. In addition, as W-2 employees, players would likely relinquish their lucrative NIL rights in exchange for a base salary that may barely cover tuition on an after-tax basis.
College sports is one of the dwindling number of institutions in this country that are uniquely American. As a form of entertainment, it is not only ingrained in the fabric of life in the United States, but it is also how hundreds of thousands of student-athletes finance their education in pursuit of the American dream. Trump and Republicans have an opportunity with the recent executive order and the SCORE Act legislation to ensure that this does not become another nostalgic relic of the past but rather persists for generations of students and fans to come.
Although it would be preferable for Democrats to work with Republicans to prevent the demise of college sports, the GOP cannot afford to wait for a wave of bipartisanship to wash over Washington.
Trump and Republicans should grab the bull by its horns and support the SCORE Act, which would unequivocally establish that student athletes are not employees of the schools and avoid a catastrophe that leaves everyone worse off—including the millions of Americans who cherish college sports and its traditions.
Thomas McGovern is the author of “Road to the Final Hour: The Catastrophic Tax Consequences of the Professionalization of College Sports.”
Reprinted with permission from The Daily Signal by Thomas McGovern.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
GREED, MONEY AND POWER began rearing it’s destructive and evil head 50 years ago in college sports. And now, ALL party’s involved, from ‘outside players’, the NCAA, Universities, colleges, coaches, and the players themselves all want to CASH IN ON THE MEGA-BALLOONED CASH COW.
The MEGA BILLIONS TRADING HANDS IS KILLING THE SPORT FOR THE FANS, PUTTING TICKET PRICES OUT OF REACH, AND SUPPORTS THE EVILS OF GREED, CORRUPTION, AND POWER.
And the WORST part is it’s NEVER going to stop unless enough fans stop buying tickets.
Trump signed a Executive Order regarding college sports and payments. This is a big distraction & micromangMENT by Trump and the biggest question is HOW IS COLLEGE SPORTS GOING TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN ?
With the “American Dream” now a thing of the past, as in no home ownership possibilities for the vast majority of those entering the adult workforce. With senior citizens looking at spending their final days, weeks or even years in decrepit facilities that reek of pine sol and urine. With veterans living under tarps on the perimeter of VA centers of course all stops must be eliminated in saving college sports.
Our President has his priorities!
Sports and the money connected with them have become too important in colleges across the nation. The primary purpose of colleges should be on educating their students in subjects useful to the students and thus others benefit. Sports play no role what so even in those pursuits but are useful to promote physical fitness and as entertainment.
Or, just repeal all of the ill-conceived NIL rules, and reset college sports back to its prior status – amateur. Personally, NIL $ has ruined college sports for me – no charm, loyalty or appeal left. The $ benefit the few “stars”, who often jump ship for “better offers”; the rest of the dare I say actual college students get left under the bus.
Once they started paying college players armature
sports in colleges are nover. Take Seton Hall’s basketball program. It had been shall we say dismantled because Seton could not pay the amounts demanded by players and agents. Seton had most of its entire team transfer to schools offering more money. Greed has and will continue to destroy college sports. Don’t think high school level sports are exempt. .
Amateur athletics is nearly dead. R.I.P. There is nothing short of a miracle needed to prevent this from happening. And as soon as amateur sports dies, so does most smaller audience sports, especially women’s programs. Anything that can’t support itself financially will be a thing of the past.
WHAT EVER THE ALTHLETE MAKES BY NIL GOES TO THE SCHOOL. THE SCHOOL DIVIDES THE MONEY UP AMONG THE TEAMS MEMBERS, MINUS A 25% SURCHARGE FOR ADMIN.