WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led yesterday's hearing on reforming college athletics, advocating for Congress to prioritize student-athletes’ education and bring stability to the college sports system. Cassidy highlighted the benefits college sports offers to student-athletes, institutions, businesses and communities in Louisiana and across the country.
“People love college sports,” said Dr. Cassidy. “[A]s important as that is, student-athletes can change the trajectory of their life by participating in college athletics.”
“[T]he current system is unsustainable,” continued Dr. Cassidy.
Several of the witnesses echoed Cassidy’s concerns for categorizing student-athletes as employees, including Dr. Trayvean Scott, Ph.D, the Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics at Grambling State University in Louisiana, and LSU basketball legend, Collis Temple.
“[M]y belief is that roster spots will start to be reduced, alright, specifically to those non-revenue sports, specifically on the men's side,” said Dr. Scott. “For an institution like Grambling State University where we have 15 Division I sports, that means baseball is probably going to go first. Alright, football is going to reduce roster spots.”
“[E]very student-athlete who goes to a university and completes an academic performance standard has an opportunity to be a pro. We just need to realize that ‘pros’ are mathematicians. ‘Pros’ are scientists. ‘Pros’ are English teachers,” said Mr. Temple. “Pros’ are people who have a lifetime of opportunity.”
Abby Lynch, a former student-athlete at the University of Illinois, highlighted the negative impact that such a reclassification would have on women’s sports protected by Title IX.
“[I]t would be more expensive than you are expecting,” said Ms. Lynch. “[T]he way that we balance women’s sports and protect women’s sports is not exactly clear in an employment model.”
“[W]omen’s sports and Olympic sports… are at a threat under an employment model,” continued Ms. Lynch.
Background
As Chairman, Cassidy is leading efforts to bring student-athletes and institutions stability so they can better navigate this new era of college sports. Recently, Cassidy led a roundtable discussion and was joined by U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Jon Husted (R-OH), and Chris Murphy (D-CT) and expert panelists. Cassidy also is requesting information from stakeholders on how Congress can address this challenge.
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