One of Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey’s concerns with a recently introduced Senate bill designed to fix college sports is that it could increase the likelihood of the very type of litigation the measure proposes to reduce.Sankey sent a letter to SEC presidents and chancellors last week, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, that outlined about two dozen fixes that he and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti discussed in a June 4 videoconference with one of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.Among the concerns Sankey expressed was about the “unintended legal exposure” that could come in a section of the bill that allows athletes to file civil lawsuits in certain cases — a right that many Democrats have sought to protect.“As drafted, these provisions are likely to increase litigation rather than reduce it,” Sankey wrote.
Though the SEC and Big Ten have not backed the Protect College Sports Act as currently written, they did believe that with targeted revisions it could deliver “meaningful stability and accountability needed in college athletics,” Sankey wrote.
Cruz and co-sponsor Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., have portrayed their bipartisan bill, which would need 60 votes to clear the Senate, as the last, best chance to make lasting fixes to college sports. They have indicated they are open to adjustments in the 111-page measure, which they rolled out May 27.
