The people who oversee the Post Office now want to run college sports ... what could go wrong?
uncertain
what → oversee → sports
The United States Congress has been called upon during the most important moments in American history to make difficult decisions about the future of our country.
asserted
Congress → call → country
We have navigated wars, economic downturns and national disasters.
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We → navigate → wars
These are the kinds of nationwide issues that a federal government should address.
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government → address → that
The Founders never intended for the federal government to usurp the authority of your local school board or your homeowners’ association.
asserted
government → intend → board
I don’t think it ever occurred to them that Congress would one day be charged with dictating the rules for college sports.
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Congress → think → sports
And yet, with gas at over $4 a gallon, a persistent war with Iran and $40 trillion in debt, the Senate decided the most urgent thing it should do is dictate how college sports are run from Washington.
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sports → decide → Washington
It came to this decision, of course, after acknowledging that government caused the very problems this bill purports to fix.
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bill → come → problems
This is the exact scenario the great Harry Browne described when he said government "knows how to break your legs, then hand you a crutch and say, ‘See, if it weren’t for government, you wouldn’t be able to walk.’
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you → describe → government
I come to the floor today to offer an amendment that would avoid the federal takeover of college sports.
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that → come → sports
Unlike the underlying bill, my amendment rejects the idea that politicians should run college sports.
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politicians → underlie → sports
My amendment would put the trust in the schools, students, coaches and conferences to run their own sports.
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amendment → put → sports
My amendment accomplishes this goal simply by granting an antitrust exemption so that college athletes and schools can make their own deals, without unelected judges or politicians micromanaging every detail of compensation and eligibility.
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judges → accomplish → compensation
Jason Russell, a journalist with Reason magazine perhaps summed up this bill’s federal takeover of college sports best when he wrote:
"The backers of the bill believe politicians, not the NCAA, should decide how many transfers are allowed.
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transfers → sum → bill
They think politicians, not conferences, should set a compensation cap on how much schools can pay athletes.
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schools → think → athletes
They think politicians, not athletes and businesses, should get to decide what is a legitimate private contract.
asserted
what → think → ?
They think politicians, not the colleges, should decide how many schools are in the Big Ten and SEC.
asserted
schools → think → Ten
They think politicians, not coaches, should decide when a coach is allowed to leave a job.
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coach → think → job
They think politicians, not athletes or agents, should get to decide what agent fees are.
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fees → think → ?
They think politicians should empower medical personnel, not athletes or coaches, to have "autonomous, unchallengeable" power to decide if an athlete plays or sits.
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athlete → think → power
They even think politicians, not the NFL or broadcasters, should get to decide when professional football games are on TV.
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games → think → TV
They think politicians should have a say in the length of the college football season.
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politicians → think → season
This bill is the culmination of a slow march towards federal control of college sports that began almost one-hundred and forty years ago in the courts.
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that → begin → courts
In 1890, Congress enacted the Sherman Act.
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Congress → enact → Act
But, quite quickly, antitrust became a weapon against businesses of all sizes.
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antitrust → become → sizes
One of the most ridiculous examples of antitrust as a weapon of government control came in 1967.
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One → come → 1967
In Utah Pie Company v. Continental Baking Company, the courts determined that a bakery violated antitrust law by selling its pies too cheaply.
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bakery → determine → pies
Not long after, in 1969, the government sued IBM for dominating the computer market by innovating too quickly.
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government → sue → market
That case ultimately ran on for thirteen years before the government finally dropped it, saying that it was "without merit."
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it → run → merit
The logic of antitrust became so contorted that the Federal Trade commission accused cereal makers of maintaining a shared monopoly on the theory that the brands blocked competition by being so popular that they flooded store shelves with their products.
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they → become → products
After 10 years of litigation, the FTC dismissed the case, ruling that staff failed to prove the shared monopoly charges.
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staff → dismiss → charges
Antitrust laws granted the courts the ability to intrude on private contracts and dictate how people should run their businesses.
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people → grant → businesses
And courts have grown increasingly comfortable using that power, increasing the scope of antitrust law with each case.
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courts → grow → case
For over one-hundred years this country has left regulation of college sports where it belongs: with the institutions and individuals that participate in college athletics.
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that → leave → athletics
Until 1984, college athletics were excluded from antitrust law because antitrust didn’t deal with noncommercial, amateur pursuits.
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antitrust → exclude → pursuits
But in 1984 the Supreme Court decided that the NCAA couldn’t impose television broadcasting restrictions on college football games.
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NCAA → decide → games
Rather than recognizing that there may have been an underlying reason for the restrictions, the courts threw out the restrictions and began the slippery path we are on today.
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we → recognize → path
That case established college athletics as a commercial enterprise, but it wasn’t until 2015 that the courts really sank their fangs into college athletics.
asserted
courts → establish → athletics
In 2015, the courts finally decided that the NCAA could not require students to maintain their amateur status by refusing payment for use of their name, image and likeness.
uncertain
NCAA → decide → name
The court decided that eligibility rules for a private association are best decided by the government, not the members of the association.
asserted
rules → decide → association
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
