Sen. Cruz Booed Lobbying for Protect College Sports Act

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, got a chilly reception from the University of Texas crowd, when he appeared on ESPN’s College Gameday to advocate for his Protect College Sports Act.

Cruz appeared on the show ahead of Texas’ big football matchup against The Ohio State University Saturday night.

“The current situation is nuts …. the reason Congress is acting is because Congress created this problem,” Cruz said about the state of college sports.

“The bill is very simple. It brings order to chaos; it protects the students and their ability to be compensated … but it also puts reasonable rules in place,” Cruz added.

The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. would let students continue earning compensation while limiting transfers and eligibility. It would let colleges pool media rights, regulate agents, and ban football coaches from leaving midseason.

While Cruz spoke, the crowd chanted “Ted you suck.”

“Most college athletic programs are losing tens of millions of dollars, and as a result, they’re canceling women’s programs and non–revenue sports and Olympics sports,” Cruz said.

“If we don’t act, in three to five years we’re going to see 40 to 50 schools that have competitive football programs and everyone else goes under,” Cruz added. That would be a tragedy.”

“Every single student can still earn name image and likeness money,” Cruz continued. “What this bill does is prohibit is a booster in a back alley showing up with a bag of cash and doing things under the table,” Cruz added.

A similar bill has stalled in the House. Both the Big 10 and SEC, the two most powerful conferences in college sports, have expressed their skepticism toward the bill, potentially dooming its chances of passage.

“We still do not support the bill in its current form but continue to engage with the bill’s sponsors and other legislative partners in an effort to make improvements,” a spokesperson for the Big Ten previously said.

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