Senate Overwhelmingly Supports Consideration of Protect College Sports Act Following Event with Student Athletes and Coaches

To watch Chairman Cruz’s remarks on the Senate floor, click HERE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, with a vote of 74-24, the Senate cleared a key procedural hurdle to move to consideration of the Protect College Sports Act (S.4668), setting the stage for the bill to move through the Senate. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the lead Republican sponsor of the legislation, spoke about the bill on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.

Chairman Cruz on the floor stated: “Today is a chance for us to stand up and fight for the half million college athletes who are competing right now because, if the Senate doesn’t act, hundreds of thousands of those students will see their roster slots go away and their scholarships go away. Let’s fight for the students to protect their rights, to protect their future. Let’s come together and demonstrate that the Senate, Republicans and Democrats working together, can lead and protect an institution that is unique and valuable that is college sports in America.”

To watch a recap video of the press conference, click HERE.
To watch Chairman Cruz’s press conference remarks, click HERE.
To watch the student athletes remarks during the press conference, click HERE.
To watch the full press conference, click HERE.

Yesterday, Chairman Cruz hosted a press conference with more than 30 student athletes and coaches from across the country to discuss the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act and urge Congress to send the bill to President Trump’s desk before it’s too late. Chairman Cruz was also joined by Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and John Hoeven (R-N.D.).

Senator Hoeven and Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) recently added to the momentum to save college sports by cosponsoring the Protect College Sports Act.

Upon announcing support for the legislation, Senator Hoeven said: “With the college football season underway, the problems facing student athletic programs are in clear focus. Across the country, small athletic programs are disappearing, student athletes are left vulnerable to exploitative contracts, and college rosters are being hollowed out by a system that awards excessive transfers. That’s why we’re working to advance the Protect College Sports Act, which will establish a common-sense, bipartisan framework to protect competition, restore fairness and bring much-needed stability to college athletic programs.”

In addition to Senators Hoeven and Luján, the Protect College Sports Act, introduced in May by Chairman Cruz and Ranking Member Cantwell, is cosponsored by Senators Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.).

The Protect College Sports Act has the support of 29 collegiate athletic conferences, and more than 370 colleges and universities across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Additional endorsements for the bill include: the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the players associations for the NFL and the NBA, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), Team USA Athletes’ Commission (Team USA AC), and National Governing Body Council (NGBC).

ICYMI

Coaches participating in the press conference flooded the airwaves in strong support of the Protect College Sports Act. You can watch their interviews below:

Student athletes also emphasized the need to pass the Protect the College Sports Act to protect the opportunities for future generations in a direct-to-camera statement.

###

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.