10.22.25

Cantwell Joins Presser with Seattle Sonics Legend Spencer Haywood on Protecting College Athletes

Sen. Cantwell recently introduced SAFE Act to codify athletes’ rights and protections, expand revenue for all schools, and support women’s and Olympic sports

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined a virtual press conference with former college and professional athletes, including Seattle SuperSonics legend, Olympian, and NBA Hall of Famer -- Spencer Haywood -- to defend college athletes’ rights against efforts to strip recently won protections in the 9-0 Supreme Court Alston ruling and the Grant House vs. NCAA settlement. The SCORE Act, which the full House of Representatives is expected to consider when they return to Washington, D.C., would further cement inequities in college athletics, codify sweeping antitrust immunity for the NCAA to the detriment of athletes, and harm women’s and Olympic sports.

“The SCORE Act is really…not what we think it is for the athlete,” said Sen. Cantwell. “Let's just put it that way. It's not the solution for the athlete. You can say there's a lot of people scoring. Two big divisions and their commissioners, they're scoring. The NCAA, they're scoring. Okay, and now apparently private equity is scoring. Okay, but who's not scoring is the athletes.”

In 1970, Spencer Haywood and Seattle SuperSonics owner Sam Schulman filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA to allow Haywood to play despite not being four years removed from high school – which was the standard at the time. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Haywood 7-2, setting a national precedent for athletes’ rights.

“So I joined the Seattle SuperSonics in Seattle, Washington,” said Spencer Haywood. “And so, in joining the Seattle SuperSonics, right away…they [the NBA] hit me with a lawsuit…an injunction saying that I cannot play because my fourth year [after high school] was not up. And I said I wanted to play. So Sam Schulman, the owner of the Seattle SuperSonics, said, ‘Let's fight this case.’ And I was up for a good fight, because I had seen so many players, Connie Hawkins, Roger Brown, just a number of great players who were sitting out on the sideline waiting for four years before they could go into the NBA and make a living for themselves. And a lot of those players…they fell through the pipeline. So I said, I gotta fight this. And so we started off in Seattle. We went to the District [Court] and all the way to the Supreme Court. [W]e had a good run, and I won the case seven to two.”

In addition to Spencer Haywood, Sen. Cantwell joined Dwayne Allen -- Super Bowl LIII Champion, Clemson University All-American, and current Player Director for the NFL Players Association, Meghann Burke -- former professional soccer player, All-American at St. Louis University, and current Executive Director for the NWSL Players Association, and Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) for the virtual event.

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The college athletics legislation recently introduced by Senators Cantwell, Booker, and Blumenthal – the Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement (SAFE) Act – allows colleges and universities to lawfully negotiate their media rights as a group to increase their value—just like the NFL, NBA, and NHL are able to do, without violating antitrust laws. Sen. Cantwell responded to a question about why the SCORE Act does not include a similar provision:

“I might be going out on a limb here, but in my view, you could take the rights that Senator Booker and Blumenthal and I have worked on as a federal preemption for health and safety and scholarship, and you could probably pass them tomorrow,” said Sen. Cantwell. “And you could say, this is the national law. My guess is the people who are pushing the SCORE Act won't let us do that, because that's not really what their objective is. Their objective isn't to codify rights for student athletes. Their objective is to run away with the money…They basically want the two largest divisions to have the ability to have their TV revenue, even though they could make more out of the changes to the [Sports] Broadcasting Act, and that would make more money for the ecosystem.”

Sen. Cantwell has been deeply involved in the effort to fix college sports. Earlier this month, she wrote to the presidents of the Big Ten schools warning of the dangers of selling university assets to private equity firms. Last month Sen. Cantwell released a report showing how skyrocketing media rights payments have exacerbated a massive financial gap between traditional power conferences, especially the new Power 2—the SEC and Big Ten—and everyone else. In August, she wrote to the presidents and chancellors of more than 350 Division I universities and their governing bodies, warning that the SCORE Act - currently before the House of Representatives - would further cement current inequities in college athletics and consolidate power with the SEC and Big Ten. On July 15, Sen. Cantwell and Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R, WA-05) sent a letter strongly opposing the bill.

Yesterday’s press conference was hosted by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA), Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA), Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA).

Video of yesterday’s press conference is available HERE, and transcript available HERE.

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