January 1, Free Market Bill Secures College Sports Future

Wyatt’s Take

• The SAFE Act threatens college sports with heavy regulation that hurts schools and athletes.
• The SCORE Act protects student-athlete rights and keeps the playing field fair and open.
• It’s time for lawmakers to choose commonsense reform for college athletes.

College sports bring energy to countless American towns and fuel local pride. But there’s a fight in Washington over how to run these games fairly for everyone involved.

One bill, the SAFE Act, gets it wrong. Backed by some on the left, it piles on big government red tape, forcing schools to give up their own deals and putting sports decisions in the hands of bureaucrats instead of fans and families.

This would cause contracts between schools and broadcasters to vanish overnight, slashing value from teams and hurting athletes. Even local TV stations could grab ads meant for the schools and players.

Fans are already tired of scrambling to figure out what channel or service shows their team. The SAFE plan only adds more confusion.

The alternative is the SCORE Act. This bill makes it clear—student-athletes aren’t employees and should keep their freedom.

The SCORE Act was written by folks who know colleges and sports inside out. It lets players get fairly paid from their name, image, and likeness, and keeps money flowing to all sports, including those for women and smaller programs.

This idea already has support from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress and is backed by those running small and large colleges, including historically Black institutions.

“Our model produces class upon class of citizens and leaders, in many cases to student-athletes who but for their athletics ability would not be able to attend college,” wrote the Collegiate Commissioners Association.

Black college leaders warned, “Despite a range of historic recent changes in collegiate sports designed to support student-athletes, opportunities for predominantly Black students at our institutions are still at risk.”

Instead of turning college athletes into employees with endless government interference, the SCORE Act lets them control their futures, make money, and keeps college sports a path to a better life for many.

Congress should act for the good of players, fans, and their communities by backing the SCORE Act. It’s the simple, fair, and American way to fix college sports.

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Wyatt Matters

When decisions are made far from home, ordinary folks pay the price. Protecting fair competition and keeping values rooted in opportunity matters most for families and young people chasing big dreams.