Ted Cruz

Mr. President, Claims · 28 wordsfor the past 3 years, I have worked hard to find a way to bring order to the chaos that is consuming the new era of college sports. Reasoning · 38 wordsI think it is helpful to understand why college sports are in this mess and why university administrators, athletic directors, coaches, and student-athletes haven’t been able to bring order to this chaos, and it starts with Federal law. Claims · 48 wordsOur Nation’s antitrust laws were written over a century ago and were never designed to regulate NIL, transfer portals, billion-dollar media contracts, and the realities of modern college athletics. Yet, today, those laws are being applied in ways that have fueled constant litigation and uncertainty across college sports. Positioning · 17 wordsThere is nothing sacrosanct about antitrust law that makes it unassailable. It is not the 11th Commandment.Positioning Claims · 81 wordsIt is not in the Constitution. And when the Supreme Court applied it to college sports, it drew a legal conclusion. It didn’t cast a value judgment. In fact, it said just the opposite. Justices said that perhaps Congress might want to revisit whether this is an appropriate fit, noting that Congress has amended the antitrust laws for certain situations and entities in the past and that it may choose to do so again in the future to address college sports.¹ Reasoning · 30 wordsIt would be nice if college sports could somehow magically fix itself, but this is a matter of law, Federal law, and it is only Congress that can fix it. Claims · 23 wordsI know some argue that college sports are doing just fine. They point to high television ratings, enthusiastic fan bases, and packed stadiums. Reasoning · 29 wordsBut popularity does not demonstrate that a system is healthy; it simply proves that the system is worth saving. Fans cannot merely hope that this problem will correct itself. Claims · 17 wordsThe courts can decide cases. Conferences can make their own rules. The NCAA can change its policies. Reasoning · 30 wordsSo if we are going to be having national competition, then it is only Congress that can establish a clear and enforceable legal rule book. There is no other option.False choice Claims · 238 wordsThat is what the Protect College Sports Act does. That is what student-athletes, coaches, universities, and conferences have repeatedly come to Washington asking Congress to provide. The NIL era is here. The Protect College Sports Act embraces this new reality by codifying and protecting the rights of student-athletes to earn money from their name, image, ¹¹and likeness and establishing the rules necessary to end the chaos. But a system that protects student-athletes’ ability to earn NIL also needs rules. Real NIL is not the same as a disguised recruiting payment. Revenue sharing is not the same as unlimited cap evasion. Athlete mobility is not the same as permanent roster free agency. Legal certainty does not mean a blank check. The Protect College Sports Act draws these lines. It establishes national rules while giving student- athletes the benefits and protections that do not exist in Federal law today. Student-athletes, coaches, conferences, universities, professional sports leagues, and Olympic organizations all know that the status quo is unsustainable, Unearned certaintyand they know that the Protect College Sports Act is the change college sports so desperately needs. Thirty-two conferences, more than 380 schools, ²and the Student- Athlete Advisory Committee, ³which represents half a million student- athletes across the country, all enthusiastically support this bill. Just last week, more than 30 students and coaches took time out of their days and flew to Washington to make that point on the grounds of the Capitol.⁴ Procedure · 3 wordsTo my colleagues: ProcedureThe ask · 27 wordsListen to your constituents. Listen to student- athletes. Listen to the fans. And listen to the sponsors of the bill, just as I have listened to you. Claims · 86 wordsWe have heard our colleagues’ concern, and the bill before us is not the bill we started with. We sat down at the table with Republicans and Democrats, and we made changes. This was not done at the eleventh hour. During the Commerce Committee markup in June, we addressed concerns about the potential formation of a superleague, we clarified the bill’s Sports Broadcasting Act provisions, ⁵and we added additional representation for midsize conferences. These are just three of the many amendments and adjustments that were made. Procedure · 4 wordsWe didn’t stop there.Procedure Claims · 61 wordsBefore the bill made it to the floor, we heard concerns from the Big Ten and the SEC and worked toward finding a solution. We earned their support. We tightened the revenue-sharing rules, made sure student-athletes got their fair share of revenue, strengthened NIL transparency, further addressed tampering and recruitment, and made clear that participation in pooled media rights is voluntary.¹² Procedure · 3 wordsNegotiations didn’t stop.Procedure Claims · 55 wordsIn getting the bill to the Senate floor, we enhanced NCAA oversight and accountability, gave States the ability to impose stronger health and safety protections, protected existing broadcast contracts, ¹³and softened conference realignment restrictions in certain cases. Now, some of my colleagues remain concerned that this bill gives too much legal protection to the NCAA. Procedure · 4 wordsLet me be clear.Procedure Claims · 37 wordsLegal certainty is not immunity from accountability. The latest text preserves existing legal claims and makes clear that the bill’s notice-and-cure process cannot shield institutions from damages claims involving serious misconduct such as sexual assault and abuse.⁶ Reasoning · 12 wordsWe must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Claims · 18 wordsNot everyone got everything they wanted. Frankly, I didn’t, and neither did my counterpart, Ranking Member Maria Cantwell.¹⁰ Reasoning · 43 wordsBut this is what legislating means. It means Republicans and Democrats listening to each other and finding middle ground. It means compromising to reach an agreement. It is the way our Founding Fathers designed the legislative process for the good of the whole. Procedure · 6 wordsFor those few who remain unmoved: ProcedureThe question · 34 wordsWhere is your commonsense alternative? What are you suggesting can stop the legal chaos? The threat of the wealthiest programs breaking away for a superleague? The scholarships being cut week after week after week? Promise · 6 wordsWe can avoid all of that. The ask · 57 wordsLet’s protect college sports for the thousands of student-athletes who feel like they are navigating ``the Wild West,’’ as Boston University swimmer Gannon Flynn put it during our college sports roundtable.<sup>7</sup> Let’s fix it for the coaches who feel that college athletics are ``truly under attack,’’ as Middle Tennessee State University head football coach Derek Mason said.⁸ Reasoning · 4 wordsThis is not sustainable. Claims · 50 wordsCollege sports is a unique American tradition that is worth protecting. We have an enormous coalition behind this bill, including the United Negro College Fund, the NFL, the NBA, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the NBA Players Association, the NFL Players Association, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.⁹ Procedure · 4 wordsThe list goes on.Procedure Claims · 13 wordsThe support for this bill is overwhelming, and time is of the essence. The ask · 18 wordsLet’s get this done. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill.