Former President Donald Trump has urged lawmakers to pass the Protect College Sports Act, stating, "We have no choice" but to act to preserve college sports. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill Friday, before a five-week recess.
The legislation aims to address issues including conference expansion, player transfers, coaching changes, and the scheduling of the football national championship game. However, its progress has been hindered by opposition from some Republican senators who have proposed an amendment. These lawmakers fear the bill could create a loophole to overturn state laws that restrict transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.
"I'm urging the House and the Senate to come together, bipartisan if possible and it looks like they have done, to send the bill to my desk and I will sign it," Trump stated Thursday. He added, "If we don't, we're very foolish. Nobody knows what will happen. We're in Never-Never Land." Trump assured that "We're not going to let that happen to these great people and others."
Trump made these remarks during a White House reception honoring Team USA's Winter Olympic and Paralympic athletes. He described the collegiate athletic system as "the engine of American Olympic dominance" and noted his administration's efforts to "save women's sports, and we're also saving college sports."
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order titled "URGENT NATIONAL ACTION TO SAVE COLLEGE SPORTS." A White House statement on Thursday echoed this urgency, asserting that "The future of college sports, especially the future of Olympic and non-revenue sports, is threatened by significant legal and financial uncertainty. Federal legislative action is imperative."