Trump praises Protect College Sports Act, calls for passage of bipartisan Cruz-Cantwell bill

(The University of Alabama/Facebook)

President Trump has just become the latest figure to put his support behind a bipartisan bill put forward by U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) aimed to curtail the chaos of college sports.

The Protect College Sports Act has reached the floor of the Senate with testimonies being heard last week, and among those testifying was former Alabama head coach Nick Saban.

Saban issued high praise to the bill and what it aims to do in terms of NIL caps, transfer guidelines, and ability of the NCAA to enforce its own rules.

Now, President Donald Trump has put out a long post on his truth social praising the bill and urging lawmakers to work together to pass this piece of legislation.

“College sports are turning into pro sports, except with absolutely no rules, a result no one wants,” the President wrote. “University presidents, conference commissioners, student-athletes, coaches, and athletic directors all complained to me that it has become a disaster, after years of no action, and that schools were losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year.”

“I urge the House and Senate to come together to pass a final Bipartisan Law, that I can sign this summer, that reflects the views and input of both Chambers. WE HAVE TO SAVE COLLEGE SPORTS!”

The bill clearly has some hurdles to clear as both the Big 10 and the SEC have expressed reservations regarding the media rights pooling with other conferences portion of it, but it does seem all sides are more committed to getting something done than any other previous attempt at government intervention here.

If the bill is going to pass, it’s going to have to make some serious progress over the next couple of months, but with Saban and now Trump fully behind it as well, perhaps that progress is achievable.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.