WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) voted for the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, which passed the Senate 77-22. The legislation sets national rules for college athletics around how student-athletes can be paid for their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The legislation, which is supported by President Trump and now heads to the House of Representatives for final passage, codifies athletes’ rights and protections in law and amends existing law to expand revenue for all schools. Baldwin’s amendment, which was successfully added to the bill on a bipartisan basis, preserves student-athletes’ legal rights, including their ability to bring lawsuits against universities for harms like sexual assault or injuries, like CTE.
“Wisconsin has an incredibly proud tradition of college sports. These young people learn lifelong skills, while also bringing pride to their schools and bringing our communities together,” said Senator Baldwin. “At the same time, we need to be honest that the college sports landscape has changed dramatically in recent years and become the Wild West. The chaotic expansion of sponsorship and NIL deals has led to money driving recruiting, constant roster turnover, and athletes’ rights under attack. This is happening at the same time that many athletic programs are being cut and roster sizes reduced. The current system is not working for athletes, schools, or fans. This bill is a step in the right direction to help stop the chaos, compensate student-athletes fairly, and support our sports programs at our universities for generations to come. I was proud to strengthen this bill to protect student-athletes’ rights and ensure that if they are sexually assaulted or get serious injuries like CTE, they can get their justice. Whether you cheer for the Blugolds, Badgers, or Blue Devils, we can all get behind this bill to protect student-athletes and the college sports we love.”
Baldwin’s amendment allows student-athletes to bring state-law claims involving harms like personal injury, sexual assault, and other health and safety violations, and preserves state laws that provide stronger protections than the Protect College Sports Act.
