 |
|
 |
||
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|||
Macon MFA 1805 A N Missouri St Macon, MO 63552 660-385-5753 Shelbina MFA 215 W Maple St Shelbina, MO 63468 573-588-4140 CLICK - MFA CONNECT |
|
Printable Page
06/18 14:45 CDT College sports bill clears a key Senate hurdle despite SEC, Big
Ten opposition
College sports bill clears a key Senate hurdle despite SEC, Big Ten opposition
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) --- A bill that top lawmakers and athletic leaders have
described as the best chance to stabilize college sports cleared a key vote in
the Senate on Thursday with bipartisan support after weeks of input from
schools, conferences and athletes.
The bipartisan Protect College Sports Act aims to regulate payments to players,
limit them to one free transfer over their careers and create a rule to
restrict coaches from changing jobs during a season. It advanced out of the
Senate Commerce Committee on a 19-9 vote and now heads to the full Senate for
consideration.
Thursday's vote came hours after the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten
Conference, the two most powerful in college sports, reiterated their position
that "revisions are needed to secure our support for the bill." Several
senators who voted against it cited concerns raised by the two conferences,
which could spell trouble for its chances.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who supported the bill, said he would like
to be able to bring it up for a vote in the Senate next month, before the
August recess. He said the legislation will "continue to get refined as time
goes on."
"It was a really strong vote coming out of the committee," Thune said.
The bill takes a step forward
The committee vote advancing the bill followed endorsements from several athletic conferences, the NFL and its players union, and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. The Olympic committee backed the revised measure after lawmakers added additional protections for women's and Olympic sports. "The new agreement also reflects the critical importance of Olympic sports," Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the Republican chair of the committee, said in opening remarks. "That is a major part of what this bill is about. College athletics is not only football and men's basketball." NCAA President Charlie Baker applauded the Senate action Thursday, saying it was a "powerful statement to the growing bipartisan support for targeted intervention." In an interview with AP after the vote, Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell --- the top-ranking Democrat on the committee --- said the vote result felt "pretty darn good." The legislation is the product of months of negotiations between Cruz and Cantwell as other attempts in Congress to intervene in college sports have failed to advance far. "This is a big milestone," Cantwell said. Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz was among the six Democrats who voted with most Republicans in advancing the bill. "It took me awhile to get there, and I think there's more work to be done," he said.
Big Ten and SEC aren't on board The SEC and Big Ten said hours before Thursday's committee meeting that their "critical revisions have not been accepted." Among their concerns, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has argued the bill could invite the very litigation it is intended to prevent. Both conferences have also objected to a provision allowing conferences to pool media rights, saying they are unconvinced it would generate the additional revenue supporters say it could. "What we did today was say we're not going to let the most powerful, richest conferences dictate to the rest of America what's going to happen to 500,000 athletes," Cantwell said after the committee vote. Support and opposition for the bill does not fall neatly along party lines, reflecting the national reach of SEC and Big Ten schools and broader divisions in Congress. While President Donald Trump has backed the bill, multiple Republicans opposed the legislation Thursday, while several Democrat supported it. Some of the senators who voted against the bill represent states that are home to prominent SEC and Big Ten programs, including Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat, and Republican Sens. Todd Young of Indiana and Roger Wicker of Mississippi. "Universities in Mississippi and around the SEC are concerned that some further progress needs to be made on the media rights," Wicker told the AP. Earlier this month, the Congressional Black Caucus also urged the Senate to suspend action on the bill in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that effectively disabled a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. Democratic Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, a member of the CBC, voted against the legislation Thursday.
A long road ahead Clearing the committee is just the first step in a long process. Passage through the Senate is far from guaranteed, as leaders already have a packed schedule and a dwindling number of legislative days left before the November election. The bill would need to clear a 60-vote threshold in the 53-47 Republican-controlled chamber. The bill will also still need to clear the House. Earlier this year, the House Republican leadership had been working toward a vote on its own college sports bill, known as the SCORE Act, before the Congressional Black Caucus announced its unanimous opposition. Still, supporters on Thursday called the committee action a massive step forward. "Today we are proving that we are resilient in keeping this product moving," Cantwell said. ___ AP National Writer Eddie Pells in Southampton, N.Y., contributed to this report. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of college sports at https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports.
The bill takes a step forward
The committee vote advancing the bill followed endorsements from several athletic conferences, the NFL and its players union, and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. The Olympic committee backed the revised measure after lawmakers added additional protections for women's and Olympic sports. "The new agreement also reflects the critical importance of Olympic sports," Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the Republican chair of the committee, said in opening remarks. "That is a major part of what this bill is about. College athletics is not only football and men's basketball." NCAA President Charlie Baker applauded the Senate action Thursday, saying it was a "powerful statement to the growing bipartisan support for targeted intervention." In an interview with AP after the vote, Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell --- the top-ranking Democrat on the committee --- said the vote result felt "pretty darn good." The legislation is the product of months of negotiations between Cruz and Cantwell as other attempts in Congress to intervene in college sports have failed to advance far. "This is a big milestone," Cantwell said. Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz was among the six Democrats who voted with most Republicans in advancing the bill. "It took me awhile to get there, and I think there's more work to be done," he said.
Big Ten and SEC aren't on board The SEC and Big Ten said hours before Thursday's committee meeting that their "critical revisions have not been accepted." Among their concerns, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has argued the bill could invite the very litigation it is intended to prevent. Both conferences have also objected to a provision allowing conferences to pool media rights, saying they are unconvinced it would generate the additional revenue supporters say it could. "What we did today was say we're not going to let the most powerful, richest conferences dictate to the rest of America what's going to happen to 500,000 athletes," Cantwell said after the committee vote. Support and opposition for the bill does not fall neatly along party lines, reflecting the national reach of SEC and Big Ten schools and broader divisions in Congress. While President Donald Trump has backed the bill, multiple Republicans opposed the legislation Thursday, while several Democrat supported it. Some of the senators who voted against the bill represent states that are home to prominent SEC and Big Ten programs, including Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat, and Republican Sens. Todd Young of Indiana and Roger Wicker of Mississippi. "Universities in Mississippi and around the SEC are concerned that some further progress needs to be made on the media rights," Wicker told the AP. Earlier this month, the Congressional Black Caucus also urged the Senate to suspend action on the bill in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that effectively disabled a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. Democratic Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, a member of the CBC, voted against the legislation Thursday.
A long road ahead Clearing the committee is just the first step in a long process. Passage through the Senate is far from guaranteed, as leaders already have a packed schedule and a dwindling number of legislative days left before the November election. The bill would need to clear a 60-vote threshold in the 53-47 Republican-controlled chamber. The bill will also still need to clear the House. Earlier this year, the House Republican leadership had been working toward a vote on its own college sports bill, known as the SCORE Act, before the Congressional Black Caucus announced its unanimous opposition. Still, supporters on Thursday called the committee action a massive step forward. "Today we are proving that we are resilient in keeping this product moving," Cantwell said. ___ AP National Writer Eddie Pells in Southampton, N.Y., contributed to this report. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of college sports at https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports.
