By Edward Woodson
Thursday marked the kickoff of America’s college football season. From Columbus to College Station, fans will gather this fall in parking lots and around televisions to root for their favorite schools.
Advertisement
While there are few things more American than college football, the socialist debates that have recently transpired over how to regulate it are the furthest thing from that.
What used to be a simple debate about which school would win the national championship, or which player would win the Heisman Trophy, has morphed into arguments over the government’s role in regulating college athletics.
The so-called Protect College Sports Act would override state laws and replace them with a sweeping federal framework. While I would expect such a bill from socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), it’s truly head-scratching to see some conservatives supporting the effort too.
It’s also perplexing to see some of the country’s most celebrated coaches doing the same.
Nick Saban is one of the greatest coaches in college football history. His extraordinary success transformed the sport, and he earned an estimated $150 million over his coaching career. Why would a coach who accomplished so much within college sports now urge Washington to take greater control of it?
Saban’s record deserves enormous respect. But when coaches worth nine figures are on the same side of a lobbying battle as private equity companies like Smash Capital, which is lobbying to get a piece of the action, athletes and fans are right to ask whom the legislation would really protect.
Recommended
Advertisement
Supporters also argue that federal intervention is necessary to preserve “competitive balance.” Wealthier programs, they warn, can use their larger donor networks and greater media exposure to attract athletes with more lucrative NIL opportunities.
But why should Congress legislate away competitive advantages that schools spent decades building?
Successful programs have invested in coaching, facilities, recruiting, alumni networks, and recognizable brands. A school that built a better program should be allowed to benefit from it, just as a business that creates a better product should be allowed to outperform its competitors.
The Constitution advanced the concept of federalism — it exists for a reason, and this college sports debate is a perfect example as to why.
College athletics are anything but uniform. The University of Georgia football program operates in a different universe from the programs at UMass or Appalachian State. Texas A&M is not Tulane. A football powerhouse with a massive television contract inhabits a different financial world than a small college trying to preserve its swimming or wrestling team. Yet this bill assumes Washington can write one rulebook that works equally well for all of them.
And that’s far from the only egregious state rights’ concern with this bill. For example, conservatives have warned that the Protect College Sports Act’s broad federal framework could override state laws reserving women’s sports for biological females. Even if the bill’s current supporters insist those protections would remain intact, a future administration might interpret its eligibility provisions differently. While I am optimistic that our next president will be JD Vance or Marco Rubio, states should not have to rely on the discretion of a future President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Gavin Newsom (or spend years in federal court) to defend laws their voters already enacted.
Advertisement
The last thing athletes need is the heavy hand of Washington, D.C., legislating their “best interests.” The road to hell is paved with the best of intentions.
College sports became an American tradition without federal dictates. Let’s not let a new bureaucracy start calling the plays. Instead, let’s let the athletes compete and the schools innovate while keeping Washington on the sidelines.
Passing the Protect College Sports Act would be a major fumble. It’s time to reset and avoid a turnover on downs.
Edward Woodson is a conservative commentator and talk radio host who has guest-hosted for Laura Ingraham.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.