College Athletes Oppose the SCORE Act in Congressional Briefing

WASHINGTON, DC-In a congressional briefing hosted today by the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP) and the American Association for Justice (AAJ), current and former college athletes expressed strong opposition to the SCORE Act.

After decades of watching coaches and schools pocket billions while barring athletes from earning anything, college athletes have finally begun to share in the wealth they help to create. The SCORE Act would not only reverse these gains but also wipe out wide swaths of state laws that currently protect college athletes.

The bill, which is expected to see a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives this month, would strip college athletes of their hard-won rights to fair compensation, granting the NCAA and its members sweeping legal immunity from federal and state antitrust laws. In today's briefing, the athletes-who spoke on behalf of hundreds of their peers across the country-warned that the bill would limit their ability to benefit from their own name, image, and likeness (NIL).

"Athletes deserve to be compensated for their NIL. They deserve to be paid for the work, efforts, and enthusiasm they put in-not just to their sports but to their schools and universities," said Shaquem Griffin, former NFL player and star linebacker at the University of Central Florida.

"College athletes deserve the same legal protections and economic freedoms as every other American. The SCORE Act claims to protect athletes, but the so-called "benefits" it offers are meaningless... The SCORE Act would silence athletes, stripping away their voice at the exact moment when they most need to be heard," said Sarah Fuller, former college soccer player who became the first woman to score a point in a Division 1 football game after joining Vanderbilt University's football team in 2020.

"As the NCAA's rules currently exist, I am continually faced with a difficult, unfairly forced choice: stay in school and earn a degree or pursue a professional career and forgo my education just to be able to retain the prize money I have earned (or will earn)," said Reese Brantmeier, current college tennis player at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who also participates in the professional circuit.