"The Republican from Texas, who holds a key position in advancing NCAA legislation as chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, told ESPN in an interview Wednesday that Congress may run out of time to act if they can't find a bipartisan solution in the coming months. During a years-long effort to restore order to the college sports industry, Republicans and Democrats have remained largely divided on whether college athletes should have a future avenue for collective bargaining, which would require them to be employees."
"The NCAA and its members have spent millions of dollars in the last several years lobbying Congress for a bill that would grant the association an antitrust exemption, supersede state laws related to college sports and block attempts to gain employee status for athletes. Despite more than a dozen Capitol Hill hearings and a long list of proposals, no bill has reached a full vote in either chamber of Congress to date."
Sen. Ted Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, insists federal legislation must prevent classifying student-athletes as employees, warning that employee status would cause enormous and irreparable damage to college sports. Congressional Republicans and Democrats remain divided on whether athletes should have a route to collective bargaining, which would require employee designation. The NCAA and many smaller schools argue that paying athletes and providing employee benefits would be unaffordable for smaller programs. Lawsuits over player contracts and eligibility rules have multiplied, prompting the NCAA to lobby for an antitrust exemption and federal preemption of state laws, yet no bill has reached a congressional floor vote.
Read at ESPN.com
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