Two Republican lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday to protect the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), college conferences and member schools amid ongoing legal challenges and allow them to continue regulating student-athlete compensation and other matters.
Republican Reps. Russell Fry (S.C.) and Barry Moore (Ala.) revealed The Ball Protection Law on Wednesday, which would “provide new benefits to student-athletes, establish and enforce rules, and comply with the law without the constant risk of costly litigation.”
The NCAA and Power Four conferences are currently considering resolving an antitrust lawsuit that could cost billions in damages for college athletes who have failed to profit from sponsorship and endorsement deals dating back to 2016, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
In 2021, the NCAA lifted the previous ban on allowing student-athletes to earn money from their name, image and likeness (NIL). This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that restrictions on student-athlete compensation are a violation of the Sherman Act, an antitrust law.
The NCAA also faces several lawsuits from states over some of the association’s rules, including recruiting incentives and multiple transfers, the AP reported.
Fry and Moore’s proposal seeks to protect the NCAA from litigation and establish federal barriers around compensating athletes for their NIL, recruiting and eligibility standards.
“The NIL rules are constantly changing, heavily litigated and essentially unenforceable – causing confusion and chaos for everyone involved,” Fry said in a statement. “We must establish a liability shield at the national level to protect schools, student-athletes and conferences as they navigate this new set of circumstances.”
Fry and Moore are members of the House Judiciary Committee.
“The Protect the BALL Act preserves the opportunity for more than 500,000 NCAA student-athletes to compete and protects [universities] of constant litigation in the NIL era,” Moore said.
A number of NCAA school leaders applauded the proposal and emphasized the importance of protecting student-athletes amid the controversy surrounding NIL practices.
“We are extremely grateful to Congressman Fry and his willingness to introduce legislation that provides institutions with the legal protections we need in the ever-changing landscape of names, images and likenesses,” said Graham Neff, director of athletics at Clemson University, in a statement . release.
At least seven bills regarding a standard of compensation rules have been introduced in the House or Senate since 2020, although none have been successful, the AP noted.
The Ball Protection Act is intended to be combined with broader legislation that will create a national framework for NIL compensation in college sports, Fry’s office said.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
