Congressional Black Caucus Urges Senate to Suspend Protect College Sports Act of 2026

The Congressional Black Caucus today sent a letter to Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell urging the Committee to pause consideration of the Protect College Sports Act of 2026 and related college athletics legislation until athletic leaders meaningfully engage with concerns about attacks on Black political representation.

In the letter to Chair Cruz and Ranking Member Cantwell, the CBC raises serious concerns about the Committee advancing the legislation, particularly in the absence of meaningful engagement from college athletics leaders who have received letters from the CBC in recent days.

"The Congressional Black Caucus has transmitted formal letters to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, ACC Commissioner James J. Phillips, Ph.D., and NCAA President Charlie Baker demanding immediate engagement, meaningful action, and a public response regarding the ongoing assault on Black political representation throughout the South and across the nation," the letter states."Until college athletics leadership demonstrates a willingness to both engage on these issues and take concrete action in support of the communities that have contributed so much to their success, Congress should refrain from advancing legislation that would provide additional protections, authorities, benefits, or legal certainty to these institutions."

The CBC, which unanimously opposed the SCORE Act in recent weeks, emphasized that college athletics leadership has a responsibility to communities that undergird their success, to fight back against continued Republican-led efforts to redraw congressional maps to weaken Black voting power across the South.

"For generations, Black athletes have helped build college athletics into one of the most powerful and profitable industries in American life. The success, visibility, and cultural influence of major athletic conferences and institutions are inseparable from the talent, labor, leadership, and cultural contributions of Black communities," the letter reads. "The Congressional Black Caucus believes institutions that profit from Black talent and Black communities have a responsibility to stand with those communities when their fundamental rights are under attack. Silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality-it is complicity."

The CBC also emphasized that engagement from college athletics leaders would be only a first step. The Caucus continues to have significant policy concerns regarding pending college athletics legislation, including questions of accountability, athlete protections, institutional authority, and the broader impact on student-athletes and their communities.

"The Congressional Black Caucus continues to have serious substantive concerns regarding pending college athletics legislation, including questions of accountability, athlete protections, institutional authority, and the broader impact such proposals may have on student athletes and the communities they represent," the letter states. "Accordingly, meaningful engagement and action by college athletics leadership should be viewed as a necessary first step, not the conclusion of this discussion. Such engagement would not resolve the substantial legislative concerns raised by CBC Members but would instead create the conditions for a more productive discussion regarding those concerns. We therefore urge you to pause consideration of the Protect College Sports Act and related legislation until these issues can be fully addressed."

Read the full letter here.