By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief of Digital Sports Desk
BOSTON – On September 28, the United States Senate issued the following statement:
On September 28th, with a large bipartisan vote of 77-22, the Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act (S.4668), authored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz(R-Texas) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). This bill is a major step toward ending the chaos and uncertainty plaguing college sports and providing student athletes, fans, schools, and coaches desperately needed relief. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives.
Cruz was quoted in the statement saying, “Today is a monumental day for college athletics. The United States Senate voted to protect the hundreds of thousands of student athletes currently competing in college sports, the millions who will follow in their footsteps, and every college sports fan who wants to preserve this great American tradition for generations to come. After years of discussions and months of intense deliberations, we achieved what many said was impossible and succeeded in getting the Protect College Sports Act through the Senate with a huge bipartisan vote. I am proud of our success, and I trust the House of Representatives will remain focused on bringing stability to college sports by delivering the Protect College Sports Act to President Trump’s desk without delay.”
The Bill faces two major hurdles:
- The House of Representatives is not in session. The broken branch of lawmakers took an eight-week recess (September 16-November 9). While pundits claimed the break was to allow Congress to return to home districts to campaign for the upcoming mid-term elections, the truth was that Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, took the drastic measure to avoid a prominent call introduced by Republican Representative Thomas Massie to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Additionally, there is little to no guarantee that the House will vote on the Bill as it currently exists, and if they do, it might not pass.
- While Cruz lauds the Bill for its supposed protection of collegiate athletes, there are quite a few athletes, and their legal representatives, who believe the Bill is not in the best interest of the athletes as it limits Name, Image and Likeness earnings and limits the number of years a student can remain eligible. Previously and consistently, Courts across the land have ruled for extra college eligibility years for various reasons.
According to legal expert Darren Heitner, after issuing the news release, Cruz spent the next two days insisting the momentum (of the Senate passing the Bill) would carry across the Capitol. He told (anyone who would listen) that he has held “extensive conversations” with Speaker Mike Johnson, that he still expects the House to return before the election, and that “the House can pass this in one day.” Jake Sherman’s reporting says otherwise. House Republican leadership says there is no chance members come back for the bill, that leadership doubts it could even get enough members back, that the bill is not a priority five weeks before an election, and that leadership is not confident it could get through the Rules Committee. The House is not scheduled to return until early November (Nov. 9).
Cruz certainly knows the truth of the matter, so you wonder what his motive can be in outright lying? Or, is he simply dreaming?
Marc Edelman, a tenured law professor at Baruch, a sports ethics director, Fulbright Scholar and Sports, Gaming & Antitrust Attorney, urged reporters to stop accepting what the Bill’s advocates say it does and, instead, examine the incentives each advocate actually has. “It doesn’t take a lot of intellect to understand that this Bill was never primarily about athletes, Olympic sports, or women’s sports, but about a handful of powerful constituencies each walking away with something it wanted, while the athletes who generate the revenue were subordinated,” noted Edelman.
On the surface, there’s a fundamental flaw which the Senate seemed to ignore.
- The athletes will have various limitations put forth, including income and length of service.
- The college administrators, coaches, school Presidents, and staff have no such limitations on their salary nor their own length of service.
Instead? There seems to be an incentive to return college athletics to the ‘way it used to be’ before all of these new rules and lawsuits changed the landscape beloved by so many fans who love the bands, the cheerleaders while looking the other way as the NCAA pocketed billions while the players in each and every sport compete with a college scholarship held over their heads as compensation.
Edelman also notes, “The NCAA’s Charlie Baker shows his incentive with the least speculation. The NCAA has been asking Congress for antitrust protection since the Supreme Court made clear in 2021 that it enjoys none. This Bill delivers it, shielding the NCAA, the conferences, the schools, and the College Sports Commission from federal suits over the enforcement of compensation, transfer, and eligibility rules. Critics have pointed out that the Bill’s protections for women’s sports sunset after nine years while the antitrust exemption never expires. When one party’s benefit is permanent, and the other’s is temporary, the drafters have told you which provision is the point.”
Proponents of the Bill note, “(The Bill has the) support of 32 collegiate athletic conferences and more than 380 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 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), FBS Athletics Directors Association, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), Team USA Athletes’ Commission (Team USA AC), and National Governing Body Council (NGBC).
Others point out a key fact which handcuffs labor, as the athletes themselves currently do not have the mechanism to unionize nationally. If there were to be a union representing the athletes (and possible sub-divisions of the union by sport and/or by college conference), the parties could enter into Collective Bargaining, and eventually reach an agreement which would serve the athletes with much better care and secure protections for an equal amount of time as the antitrust agreements for the NCAA and schools calls for in years.
No matter if the House takes a line item scissors to the Bill or even if Johnson decides to table the Bill until next year, there will be no changes in the college Football and Basketball operations of 2026-27. Chances are, we’ll be singing the same old college fight song for 2027-28, 2028-29 and 2029-30.
HERE NOW, THE NOTES: “CBS Sports and Tony Romo have mutually agreed to part ways,” CBS Sports wrote in a statement. “We thank Tony for his contributions over the past nine years and wish him the best moving forward.”
Romo was tossed out the door at CBS Sports on Friday about 10 weeks after the broadcaster’s arrest for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Romo, a former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who had been the network’s lead NFL analyst since 2017, pleaded no contest to the civil charge in a Wisconsin court on Sept. 1.
“JJ Watt will continue to partner with Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson on our lead NFL announce team for the rest of the season. All other teams remain the same, including Ian Eagle, Ross Tucker and Evan Washburn.”
“I’m proud of what I accomplished at CBS Sports over the last nine years,” Romo said in a statement. “I approached my role as a game analyst the way I’ve approached everything in my life — with a desire to win and be the best that I can be. I’m going to use this time to take a break, something I’ve never done before, and focus on my health and my family before moving on to my next opportunity. I am grateful for my time with CBS Sports and for the continued support of my family and friends, as well as the NFL community and fans.”
TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Zeke Battier, out of Providence Day (NC) for the Class of ‘27, has committed to play college basketball at Harvard. Eye-brows were up here in Massachusetts as you’d think young Zeke would follow in his father’s footsteps to Duke. Instead, Shane Battier will be a sideline, backseat, parents’ view co-coach to Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker when Zeke debuts at The Ray Lavietes Basketball Pavilion in trhe Fall of ‘27.
Recruiting site Phenom Hoops of North Carolina has this to say: “A strong get for Harvard, as Battier brings an intriguing game but also is one that still has clear potential. Standing at 6-foot-7, Battier brings a fluid overall game, something he has shown for quite some time now. He is comfortable in operating from multiple levels, scoring inside and out in transition, runs the floor, can space the floor well with his perimeter game, but also can attack the rim off the bounce. Again though, he is one that we can clearly see has room for growth at the next level, which will make him an interesting prospect to follow.
“Battier is an exceptional three-point shooter who converts a very high percentage of his looks from beyond the arc. He’s also a smart passer who understands how to make the extra pass or effectively read the floor when attacking closeouts. However, he displayed a visible increase in toughness, creation skills, and ability off the bounce. Battier’s perimeter shooting is still his most valuable weapon, but his newfound confidence as a penetrator and finisher was undeniably intriguing. Having an elite shooter who can reliably attack closeouts and make intelligent decisions is an advantage for legitimately any team. Furthermore, Battier defended multiple positions and utilized his length to be disruptive in the passing lanes.”
SURPRISE! UConn and St. John’s are rated #1 and #2, respectively, by the BIG EAST Conference Coaches in a poll of their own men’s college basketball teams. The Hoyas and the Bulldogs – not so much.
WE’RE LIVE: Despite the burgeoning Sports Management offerings at the undergrad and grad levels of higher learning, there are very few “hands on” text books with first person narratives to hand down the real world experience to students. Joe Favorito’s “Sports Publicity” is already in its Fourth Edition and is a handbook for many a class, covering the Communications and Media side on the major. Now, “We’re Live” can cover the Broadcasting side as NBA broadcasting guru Ed Desser combined with his longtime friend and colleague in ESPN digital and Kosner Sports Media man John Kosner for the ultimate “go to” book for young people seeking to learn more about the very big business of sports media.
“We’re Live” launched this week with a special ‘invite only’ gathering of the very best in NYC sports media legends toasting good fortune to Desser and Kosner.
“Launch day for our book, “We’re Live!” was quite an experience,” Desser told me the day after the event. “Inside the big business of sports media, was magical. On Thursday, we took pictures at our Times Square billboard, watched book sales skyrocket on amazon.com, and had an amazing get together with a “Who’s Who of sports media” to celebrate the book launch.
“Particular thanks to Adam Silver, Marv Albert, and Eric Stern, former NBA Commissioner David Stern‘s son. Also a big shout out to Linda Tosi, David’s former assistant who graced us with her presence.
“There is a void in the marketplace on the subject of sports media business, and we hope to fill it with our book. Further information is available at Werelivebook.com or order a paperback or a Kindle version ($1.99) at amazon.com where it’s listed as #1 in Media and Communications Industry books.
While We’re Young (Ideas) is a weekly (every weekend) collection of Sports Notes and News written by Terry Lyons. The posting of each notebook harkens back to the days when you’d walk over to the city news stand on Saturday night around 10:00pm to pick-up a copy of the Sunday papers. Inside, just waiting, was a compilation of interesting sports notes, quotes and quips in a column that always sold a few newspapers. Wire Service reports are featured within the column.
TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – Brought to you by Digital Sports Desk.
TL
