Senator Schmitt Calls on Congress to “Meet the Moment,” Pass Protect College Sports Act

The Bill Passed Its First Procedural Vote this Evening U.S. SENATE — Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) took to the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to pass the “Protect College Sports Act” and address the challenges facing college athletics. Schmitt highlighted the instability created by the current system and emphasized the need for Congress to act to provide clarity while protecting student-athletes and the future of college sports. Schmitt is a lead cosponsor of the bill with Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantell (D-WA). Watch the Senator’s full speech HERE: Excerpts from Schmitt’s remarks: “…College sports are at a tipping point in a place that they’ve never been before, because over the last decade or so, over the course of litigation, no rules can be enforced. The reality is we’ve entered into this new phase with something missing-a governing body that can establish and enforce rules-and that’s where this-that’s at the heart of what the Protect College Sports Act is all about is to grant limited antitrust exemption status for a governing body, the NCAA, to enforce rules…” … “The time has come for the United States Senate to do something that it actually rarely does, which is to meet the moment. We are at a moment. This has the endorsement of every conference, all the schools, the NFL Players Association, student athletes that have come here, legendary coaches who’ve seen the changes, HBCUs, the SWAC conference, the SEC, the Big 10-all of them-they all recognize that there is a choice now, which is to do something to correct the major issues and provide stability, so that we can continue to enjoy college athletics. It is a uniquely American institution. We can do that, or we can find some reason to not support it. We can grandstand and try to pretend that you’re advocating for somebody that’s being left out of this. But the truth is, this bill will solve a ton of problems that are so obvious you’d have to be not paying attention or not want to notice…” Read more about Schmitt’s work on the “Protect College Sports Act” HERE. ###