Transcripts For CSPAN2 Senate Hearing On Integrity Of College Athletics 20240712

Thank you all the world in which we live in the testimony we will get through it so i will make an Opening Statement and senator booker and senator blumenthal. The title of the hearing today is protecting the integrity of College Athletics. Like most americans one of the highlights with basketball. And its a lot of fun its going to be really big business with collegeage athletics and its all built around the model and then the challenge that the Business Model is fair without destroying the immature nature of the game with the collegeage Athletic Team thats the end of their career and to get compensated they get scholarships and room and board but to go into the private sector that the College Athletic experience is something i want to preserve and those that will not turn that into their livelihood those that require College Athletics for the opportunities for women and thats a good thing. So at the highest level College Athletics football. The football budget supports everything else. If youre an athlete how do we treat you fairly without turning it all into minorleague sport . What i worry about the most is the onetwo punch. Three states have now passed legislation california and colorado and california for name and likeness and images of College Athletes to be reimbursed. We cannot start a bidding war for recruits with 50 different approaches with a pre beer athlete alumni and Business Enterprises and then to create a bidding war with no end. There is a National Solution to this growing problem. We cannot allow to this to turn into a bidding war in the wild wild west. So i just the destruction a lot of people gamble it is part of america but then there is the second punch with the integrity of the sport those on the Sports Betting business and online you believe its very hard to control to worry about the impact with College Athletics with that Supreme Court decisio decision. You can literally bet on almost anything. That is unnerving and with that great lineup of witnesses but the one thing i am convinced that the federal government needs to get control of this before we allow the wild wild west to take over with these issues. We do have a great lineup of witnesses i want to thank the chairman to give us this opportunity and senator feinstein giving me the opportunity i will not take offense for your failure mr. Chairman for my illustrious career in College Sports. I was saving that for the end. As a member of the Harvard Swimming Team i was neither the star nor the grade athlete my colleague senator booker was at stanford. This brings us a very important hearing and i want to seriously think my colleague senator booker to be the quarterback and the star. And the framework with the bill of rights to protect athletes and i will enumerate some of them today with the framework and those set of principles it is important to make sure colleges put Athletes First. And the point is athletes need to be given priority. So the blood sweat and tears is what fuels a 14 billiondollar industry. But for far too long special interest have hidden a multibilliondollar industry under the masquerade of amateurism. And then as they resist all reform their response to athletes was a blanket now. Takes to those College Athletes themselves to step up and speak out a growing number that ensures them some rates over their own name and image and likeness some have health and educational safeguards only after they took that action and start to pass laws. Did we hear from the urgent need of congress to act . The pattern is familiar when they start taking action to consumers industry comes forward asking for a National Standard some in the ncaa proposal that many of us feel is allimportant and with real protection for the Athletes First they are to hear that message loud and clear to have fair compensation for their work. And that they create through their photos this is a matter of equity the athletes have to be protected against these practices and there is a Racial Justice to mention here. And that has racial and Economic Justice and healthcare justice. And with that systematic Racial Injustices of entire society for those that generate the highest revenue disproportionately played by students of color. That is an undeniable fact that the Current System denies access that the labor generates thats unfair and unjust and Racial Injustice as well as economic injustice. I am proud to announce and working with senator booker with the bill of rights to succeed the ncaa has too often failed and with collegeage athletes and the framework empowered and to protect the athletes and asked them to market their name and image and likeness and also ensure they have the opportunity to negotiate revenue agreements with the athletic is to association and it would empower and protect students right to an education and to enable them beyond their academic and athletic career. Only 55 percent of black male athletes and then with commensurate lifetime scholarships to give them more time to complete their degree. And that to create the Oversight Panel and then to make sure they have a real voice in the frying framework protects the health and wellbeing of the student athlete nothing is more important it is unacceptable College Athletes are literally dying from the heat related illnesses with all sports injuries including concussions. To have comprehensive Health Care Coverage in support with sports related injuries. And then with real enforcement. And with my own career in Law Enforcement and with those protections across the Country Schools are rushing to bring back on campus youre watching a slow motion made want colleges to reopen has to be done safely to put Athletes First. And those outbreaks in schools like ohio and university of North Carolina schools in the ncaa to prioritize and then did that from the start but not be basic rates so let me conclude by saying congress has an opportunity to go forward on a bipartisan basis and then to make their own decisions with their own College Athletes first. You shed come down to the gym. [laughter] first of all thank you to the gentle man on my right the Ranking Member smith this is very personal for me. With the overly gracious with the all american but i was the most highly overrated athlete and with those receiving yards. [laughter] so im just grateful and this really means a lot to me personally literally since i was a College Student i wouldnt be here today if not for the time i spent as a division i Football Player the lessons that i learned it is invaluable i stand on that foundation i am a senator in part because of those experiences. And that strategy and planning and for me it was an incredible experience with opportunity and those that never knew existed and unfortunately for far too many they are not empowering young people to succeed. And exploiting them and then exploiting young black athletes who are overrepresented and then the labor contributes to the 15 billiondollar industry but they see none of it. And then to fly their parents out just to see one game in person. College athletes to sustain many serious injuries to follow them the rest of their lives. But the way things stand to have access to healthcare often paying out of their own pockets for injuries they sustained and the problem is what we are here today to discuss College Athletes after name college in likeness that is all we have been doing when it comes to the problems of College Sports. The Ranking Member said it quite plain. In 2014 is only two hearings in my life ive lost my temper but in 2014 in a hearing when we discussed the same issues years ago and was then before the Commerce Committee and the Ranking Member said we have no significant progress whatsoever this is why ive honor to work with the Ranking Member and incredible staff to be in conversation for those to be determined to stop expectation they were largely the same when i was a College Athlete i saw this two decades ago the ncaa has failed generations of young men with the basic responsibility. And then to graduate with a degree. I see the ncaa 90 percent Graduation Rate but that just tells part of the story we see a different story. Just 55 percent of black men graduate within 60 years six years and the ncaa continues to fight tooth and nail excuse after excuse that they specifically black athletes with the outside amount to share in a 15 billiondollar industry. Featuring 15 billiondollar media deals coaching facilities that rival professional lease. The students producing that revenue on the field often end up with medical bills throughout their lives and without a College Degree and is plainly unacceptable. And based on the plan from nca ncaa, that shows no sign of changing. The proposals are too restrictive to benefit College Athletes even more. s and then to allow for different rules was statebystate. They are symbols of reform with a proposed but they are not performed. The a5 proposal would allow each individual endorsement it would be permissible and what would not. It is so restrictive it would prevent College Athletes from having any endorsement deals that doesnt have the existing contract with the institution or any competitors. And then sunset after ten years blocking individual states from making progress on the image and likeness to put all of us back here. The time has come for substantive form. And then was sustained levels of exploitation. You pull out your knee your junior year in college even get a guaranteed scholarship the next year they can cast you aside like a piece of meat. This goes on in the ncaa. I am grateful for the work going on with his work on creating a set of Guiding Principles that something i will work very hard on with this much Common Ground as possible to have unified voice to those who want to and athlete exploitation i will continue to work with my democratic colleagues to put together this proposal that the Ranking Member just said with health and wellness standards. And then we cant even guarantee they have a real education im grateful to have a conversation like this and before it comes with us and then we should be insuring the United States senate with their the health and wellbeing and education. I promise you three states decided to pass legislation. Two of the states january 1st 2023. You dont want the wild wild west. I know very well. And the National Football League Players association and the executive director National College Players Association thank you for participating the floor is yours. Thank you chairman graham and senator blumenthal the other 64 institutions and the other conferences thank you for providing this opportunity. It was a friend to many working with georgia tech. To leave the indelible mark on this country. And then to hold those possessions and at the university of miami in Long Beach State South Carolina and Louisiana State university. My athletic career started in on Scholarship Division ii player that has a tremendous opportunity with all aspects of their lives to have all the tools that they need for the road to success with the full list the benefits in my testimony for the record. A Diverse Group of student athletes is what the American Athletics unit. That model we are asking congress to preserve for the benefit of all student athletes. Acc and peers are asking congress to step in and take action. Three states party passed laws alert thirdparty payments one of them takes effect last the year from today. Many states are considering similar. To preserve the integrity of competition and conflict athletics, we need one universal and fair National Standard on an il. To accomplish this, five, versus Work Together to develop consensus principles for national and il solution. First and most important, we must recognize we are dealing with students who are and should remain students and not employees. We cant allow to dissolve into a Training Ground for handful of future professionals and infringes on the integrity of the process. Without productions, its a situation in which payments for licenses unconnected to the actual market value becomes the dominant factor in recruiting. In addition to influencing recruiting, funding a shift away from lower Revenue Generating sports, forming the older student population and potentially having title ix consequences. In addition to recruitment concerns, unscrupulous outside actors seeking to take advantage of student athletes. To protect student athletes, we recommend influencing safeguards with respect to an il agents and advisors, disclosure of representation to the students university, Public Disclosure of the nail licenses. We recommend allowing individual universities to ensure an il agreements are consistent with universities external marketing programs. In order to assist student athletes and families who may lack the experience to navigate this new world, i personally believe there should be an independent thirdparty organization to provide education, support and Oversight Services to the student athletes across the country. Finally, once congress and ask a system of an il rules, i urge you to ensure universities and conferences are not penalized for complying with such rules. Travel fair and final an appeal system that benefits all student athletes, we need legislation that enables students to benefit from there and il rights and allow universities and conferences to facilitate these rights and prevent further litigation for doing so. As we shape the future of nal, is my Hope Congress will consider not only the most recognizable student athletes but the multitude of student athletes to participate in our olympic sports. On behalf of lead one, National Athletic directors organization where i serve as chair, we are grateful for your attention to this issue and we look forward to working with you. Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon. Its an honor and my pleasure to testify before you today. My name is matt, law professor and executive director of National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University law school. More than 30 years, ive been studying and writing about various College Sports legal issues including ncaa student athletes ability rules and i trust issues which have implications for congressional consideration of federal name, image and license for student athletes. Casebycase litigation to resolve the ni solidity of ncaa student athlete eligibility rules, its not an optimal method of regulating sports Competition Among Nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education. Its only resulted in conflicting judicial decisions creating legal uncertainty predictable and i trust law as well as being expensive and timeconsuming. Do not consider legitimate on economic justifications for student athletes eligibility rules because its only prohibitory in nature, federal antitrust law can function only as an instrument that joined anticompetitive competent by institutions of Higher Education without considering collateral effects on athletics. Congress can consider multiple social goals in connection with athletics. For example, if fighting the scope of permissible and il licensing, maximizing College Sports and scholarships and advancing title ix gender equity. As well as the interest of all constituencies likely to be affected by a federal name image and likeness law particularly all the 460,000 male and female student athletes will play 24 ncaa intercollegiate sports in College Sports. I fully agree with senators graham, blumenthal and booker that targeted federal legislation is the best tool for macro level reforms for athletics. Particularly a substantial structural change such as permitting student athletes to receive an il income cost of University Education and preventing unintended consequences. National uniform laws are essential or external regulation of College Sports to provide consistency, prevent the development of conflicting and different state laws as is currently happening and avoid the dangers of professionalizing College Sports and creating competitive balance in equities. To achieve these objectives as well as enable ncaa to establish uniform rules to preserve student athlete in Higher Education and penalize its universities as well as the student athletes for violations of federal nil law necessary components of this law is an expressed mural antitrust exemption. To be clear, im not advocating or suggesting an antitrust exemption that would immunize the ncaa in its universities and their athletic conferences in the antitrust liability or any and all anticompetitive conduct in connection with the governance of intercollegiate sports. I propose only narrow antitrust immunity of their adoption and enforcement of rules consistent with the provisions of the federal nil law. Without it, they will continue to face antitrust litigation. To recent which were filed after the ncaa board of governors directed the divisions one, two and three to develop rules permitting student athletes to receive nil compensation including insertions they are doing so for the enactment of nil flaws eliminating defenses based on the traditional ncaa amateur academic model of Intercollegiate Athletics as well as president that cash sums untethered to educational suspensions to be prohibited nationwide by the rules. In summary, congress uniquely positioned to protect the by considering an appropriate balance all legitimate entrances and policies in determining proper nature and scope of systemic reform of Intercollegiate Athletics that should result from providing student athletes with nil licensing rights. To preserve many benefits of sports and prevent future unintended adverse consequences including professionalization of College Sports, intercollegiate athletic participation of opportunities and barriers to be achieved of title ix gender inequity and College Sports. Enqueue for consideration of my testimony and i welcome questions. Thank you. Thank you for allowing me to testify today, i want to thank the senate and Ranking Member, everybody else, we appreciate it will being heard today. I want to start with the story. Samson, backlog coach at the university of houston, he talked about at the last ncaa tournament he had parents calling him talking about they would sleep on the floor if they could just get to the tournament to see the kids play. We are talking about ncaa who signed over 1 billion contract a year to allow for them to broadcast the games. Their parents cant even come to the games. Thats a failure ncaa has had. Theyve had, since 2014, when they lost that case when they come up with a name image and license legislation but they have not done it. Its been one 100 of failure. Here we are talking about we have to do something, but not just do something, lets do the right thing for these kids because not only is it not an opportunity for them, youre also causing Economic Injury for them. For example, imagine if your daughter was a gymnast at ucla, she worked her entire life to be great at her sport. She captivates the world with her floor routine, videos generate hundreds of millions of views for people. Money for everybody, the ncaa, the schools, tv networks, sponsors, advertisers and she makes a video that says everybody made money off my career except for me, she could have been on a wheaties box, partnered with master plans to teach gymnastics to young ladies, any of that. Think about 2015 gold medalist, she goes to stanford and cant compete there and make money even though shes one of the best in the world. Your causing Economic Injury because all of us have a finite time in life we are going to have our highest earning potential. Sometimes into your in your teens or 20s, whatever it is, you should be able to capitalize on that because you go to college to get an education and you also go to college to get a head start in life so unamerican to cut off the free market system in the ncaa want to put undue restrictions on student athletes. There are three glaring issues in the proposal i thought were just terrible. The one semester. Because of the schools already starting to make money off these kids before they even stepped on campus so why shouldnt they be able to trade on the name, image and likeness before they get on . I attended university of Oregon National signing day event. They put, they talk about the kids sponsors, their boosters, former players, people in the communities so they can get ticket sales, donations and all of that that helps the university. Thats all the name image and likeness of these kids already before they step on campus so why should they have to wait as well . The other thing, the five year no publicity right before you get to college. Their kids generating revenue on youtube right now ryan, one of the highest running you tumors reviewing twice. Kids have value outside of playing sports. Some of them are great dancers, singers, artists. They have political aspirations, any of the has value and they should be able to capitalize on that. Or if they are into robotics, they could have been doing engineering things and have sponsorships from other companies. Then they would not be able to be eligible for athletics, thats wrong and unamerican. The other is about transparency, the deals should be transparent in terms of on a public website, publicly available, no. It should have oversight in terms of the deals but they shouldnt be made public because they are private deals like anything else. The last think thats a huge deal is you cannot sign a deal with the company or something that is, that the school doesnt already have a license with so the problem with that, thats already been handled. In other sports, professional leagues, for instance, the nfl. They have a deal with bows and microsoft so players when they are on the field, they cant wear apple watches and they cant use other products that conflict but when they are on their own personal time, they can. I welcome your questions and ive submitted things in my written testimony as well. I have many more points. Thank you. Thank you chairman graham and number blumenthal. I appreciate the opportunity to testify todays hearing. For the last decade, ive had the privilege of serving as president of the mta, an organization that and governed by our colleges and universities and dedicated to the health, wellbeing and lifelong success of College Athletes. Schools support and share committees interest in protecting integrity and fairness of sports. Whats really, our focus has been on the health and safety of student athletes returning to campus during the covid19 pandemic. The onset of the pandemic in the u. S. , weve established a covid19 Advisory Panel made up of some of the nations leading Public Health Infectious Disease and epidemiology experts to help guide us. Armed with their expert medical advice, we made the right but difficult decision to cancel march madness and all our spring championships. This was heartbreaking for thousands of College Athletes and millions of fans but it was the right thing to do so we did it. Last week with the guidance of our Advisory Panel and any other health experts, we released third iteration in the series of guidelines for our schools and how to implement testing, Contact Tracing and social distancing protocols that we believe are necessary for the return of College Sports. However, to be clear, the guidelines are predicated on improving health conditions. The indicators and some regions are pointing in the wrong direction. I get asked every day of College Sports will return this fall. The consensus of opinion among our Health Advisors is significant change must occur for that to happen. Im confident the leaders in College Sports working with federal state and local Health Officials are approaching this challenge the health and wellbeing of our student athletes at the forefront. The topic of todays hearing is student athletes ability to profit from licensing of his or her name, image and likeness. Opportunity that we support. This discussion is a continuation of the mcas expanding support for student athletes, College Athletes today have the benefit of many recent policy changes, not just discussions including guaranteed scholarships, enhanced academic support and reduction in time demands, attendance segments, significantly enhanced nutrition policies and practices, greater flexibility for student transfer, support for students to explore professional opportunities while retaining eligibility, expanded healthcare and catastrophic injury coverage and extended medical coverage beyond graduation. The past ten years have seen many positive transformation in the lives of our student athletes and we are proud of that. While the Record Number of student athletes are benefiting from opportunities than ever before, or to be clear theres still more that can be done for our students. As we discussed in il, i must stress we need congresses help. A growing patchwork of state laws challenges the uniformity of rules that make College Sports fair and fun. Today, the three states enacting these three desperate laws as we noted and one will come into effect in less than a year, without congresses help, i fear imbalances in recruiting, booster activities and potentially direct confrontation with student athletes were professionalized College Sports, College Athletes into employees and erode the College Sports fundamental character. Whatever shape the rules ultimately take, our ability to administer uniform standards is in constant jeopardy. Litigation over our efforts to improve support for student athletes was just to convert time, attention and resources to the courtroom rather than continuing our focus on student athletes when we serve. College athletics needs a safe harbor in which nil opportunities can be administered but is very important to note the mca is not seeking broadbased tropes exemption as some people suggested. We simply want to be able to allow students to monetize their name, image and likeness in a fair and equitable manner. To be perfectly clear, nancy a board of governors and i are committed to providing College Athletes the opportunity to make money from their name, image and likeness and to do so in a way that preserves fairness and what we love about College Sports. Last october, the governors instruct each of our three divisions to write specific nil rules that work will be done in january 21 and will take effect in 21 22 academic year. I come before you today to speak on behalf of the ncaa and board of governors and associations 1100 colleges and universities, your help and collective effort to support student athletes and allow them to participate in fair competition going forward. I appreciate the committees attention to this issue and look forward could cooperating with this part as we move forward. Thank you. , former Football Player and executive decorator. A primary advocate for the california and florida nil laws and assisting 12 of the other 28 states pursuing similar legislation. Id like to think karen Graham Blumenthal for allowing me to testify today. The opposition proposal is included in my written testimony. In recent weeks, who seemed colleges, conferences and ncaa stand up against Racial Injustice and policing and in other areas, which is positive. However, ncaa sports due to amateurism, generational wealth from predominantly black athletes from lower income households, elaborate salary sees are predominately white, commissioners and nca administrators. With established separate is not equal in education. College athletes should have the same economic freedoms and rights afforded to other students and american citizens. Like to highlight a quote, amateurism is not a moral issue, its an economic account from practice. Treatment was written 45 years ago a former executive director with the empire in this debate. Amateurism is used as an excuse to rob College Athletes of what would otherwise be most valuable years of the lives. As for reform, the truth is that the board of directors could have already enacted policies that encompass state nil laws without congresses help. However, they dont want College Athletes to have those freedoms. The proposals would wreck entire industries offlimits to deals in favor of university sponsorships. He would ban player opportunities for many are moving to open up for players such as roofing from sports video games, and many types of small businesses. Its another way for the sports to continue monopolizing players commercial value and when Congress Grants and antitrust exemption to operate would otherwise be illegal so while College Athletes across the country are risking their health and work out in a historic panama, colleges, conferences and ncaa are lobbying congress to strip them of economic freedoms. Covid outbreaks and some problems are so severe that some colleges encompasses postponed or canceled entire seasons. Instead of fighting to protect the players, by enforcing mandatory safety standards, they are eliminating their rights. A patchwork of state laws gives athletic, athletes economic freedoms would be impossible to govern but the hypocrisy is on full display. Nca sports devastating the ability to comply with disarray of everchanging covert orders issued by governors, counties and cities to return players to play in a pandemic. They can surely comply with state laws that athletes have economic freedoms. They claim the state laws would ruin the level Playing Field in College Sports. Federal courts concluded multiple times at a level Playing Field doesnt exist under current rules. In 2019, ohio state earned 209 billion in athletics revenue Ohio University earned 28 million. Both are in the division. The preseason football ranking is number two in the nation while Ohio Universitys 90th. The most revenue have the largest recruiting budgets, best coaches, the best facilities and in turn, to get the best recruits and when the most games and score the richest tv deals allowed them to consider. College athletes should be forced to sacrifice the right so they can pretend a level Playing Field exists. Nca sports is racially discriminatory predatory industry that refuses to enforce rules to prevent sexual abuse and injuries, death during workouts and Safety Measures in a pandemic. The College Football season hangs in the balance in part because nca sports refuses to enforce health and safety guidelines. Athletes are in desperate need significant reform. To adopt narrow laws designed to reduce economic freedoms. They dont need congress to secure nil freedoms is across the nation are already enacting these laws. We ask congress to enact muchneeded reforms to bring forth enforcement of health and safety standards, prevent College Athletes from being stuck with medical expenses improve Graduation Rates, guaranteed players Due Process Rights and finally allow players to share in the revenue they generate. Yes, we would like nil to be included in a broadbased bill in a way that extends, not undermines what the states are pursuing. In closing, i believe College Sports have a special place in society, they can break down barriers and unify people across all areas of life. By now, americans can use unity. Thank you all very much. Mr. Emmert, if a College Athlete is recruited and given a scholarship and they get hurt in their first year or the summer before the playing season starts, is there any requirement that scholarship be continued . Yes, there is. First of all, thank you for the question. A scholarship cannot be revoked for reasons of injury. All right. The problem im trying to balance, there seems to be thr three. Basic rights, one of the best ways to take care of student athletes from all levels of skill . Would you do with premier players and demands for their services . What i worry about, if we dont do something and they go on their own way of business, you can have alumni or People Associated with the school engaging in bidding wars in terms of if you come to this school, i will give you 5 million sell cars for me, is that a problem . I would believe that could be a problem. I think were looking at the idea of the premier student athletes having incredible opportunities to take advantage of the nil opportunities that could be presented to them but we must also understand we need to create level Playing Field as it relates to competition, different state laws and in my opinion, it would be difficult to create that level Playing Field across the country. I think what we are asking congress to do is help create whatever guidelines, whether its principles the autonomy five put together or other information that would help create opportunities for student athletes to take advantage of their name, image and likeness. You say a small antitrust exemption, what you mean by that . The ncaa, conferences would not be such a taking antitrust liability, or essentially, any enforcement efforts regarding the scope of name, image and likeness that congress chooses to enact, thats what particularly important here, if antitrust is still out there can be used, it would be in the statute. From your view, how do you deal with a premier athlete, every school in the country want them to play a particular sport, how do you make sure the name image licensing concept couldnt be abused to create a war that would destroy College Athletics as we know it . Thank you for the question, the initial problem is thats already going on. When you look at the university of alabama, they have different resources in alabama. I got that, i dont know what the demand for his Services Work but im sure he is a great student and swimmer, an Outstanding High School athlete who had choices. Trust me, im in the heart and soul of football country. I was in South Carolina, i live 5 miles from an, university of colorado, people are nuts about this stuff. Your going on this holy young College Athletes in the system if you dont have some way to control people willing to buy a player to come to a school. Theres a difference between the university of South Carolina and other schools but how do we deal with that because i dont want that to happen . I believe thats where the compliance officers are definitely necessary within universities because you are going to get an idea quickly of what the fair market value of your name, image and likeness is and having those registered agents and those people to fit those contracts, that is the key. You dont want the kids to be able to take advantage of the and thats where the compliance officers of the universities are going to be very vital and also, having a governing body that can review some of these things to ensure there are protections around the universities and around athletes. Weve seen in our country that the fair market value of these things will eventually, and in a quick way, correct itself. You may have someone who tries to circumvent the rules but theres no guarantee success for an athlete because hes a premier player or fivestar athlete. Your three start at the becomes the best on the team. But my question, weve got to have a system where you cannot allow private alumni to just give up money to go to one school versus another. The people regulating whatever congress does, should that be outside the ncaa . In this particular case around name, image and likeness, i think it should be, this conversation youre having, it epitomizes the need for an independent entity that can provide some monitoring. I understand the concerns around having these relationships public, that would be undesirable but on the other hand, having them vetted simply by the compliance director at a university involved in a bidding war doesnt resolve that problem either. Somebody outside the system. That would make sense and thats what we have been advocating. Senator blumenthal. Thank you. Your references repeatedly demised very short career, it reminded me there are metals for freestyle, theres no metals for treading water and thats what we have here in these proposals. More of the status quo. Worse than status quo because what im hearing is, give us this broad exemption from the antitrust role that applies to almost every other industry with the exception of professional sports. And we are going to preempt all state laws that really protect athletes and are the reason we are coming to you for a National Standard. It not a level Playing Field, its a race to the bottom. I am deeply disappointed in, for example, the ncaa proposals that essentially are silent on many of the issues weve raised in our bill of rights guaranteeing the wellbeing of students, no guaranteeing of scholarship for all the years that an athlete is in college. Let me just ask, he may be right that a scholarship cant be canceled but given the fact that the school can refuse to renew it. Correct. The mom scholarship is one year scholarship is renewable or nonrenewable for any reason. If they are criminally injured, the school at the end of that. Can say we dont want you anymore because you cant play for us. Your out the door. Do you agree with that . The school could certainly make that assertion but ive never seen that example in my career. We will hear more from senator booker on that. In fact, i would yield to him if he wishes just yes or no, i played for college for the sophomore here. I have a fifth year coming, i finished my degree, if i get injured, theres often cases where there are cases, i should say, where people dont come back for the fifth year, its just a fact. They can be cast aside. One year renewable scholarship. If they wanted to be up for your guarantee, make it up for your guaranteed scholarship. Its not that complicated. They dont. Theres nothing in here either about covering outofpocket medical costs of College Athletes while in school and. After they graduate, theres nothing in the proposal about removing unnecessary restriction that makes it hard for athletes to transfer schools, nothing about giving athletes the freedom to do professional drafts. Nothing about minimart issues including now forcing athletes to come back to school in the middle of the pandemic and sign away their rights, their legal protection, which senator booker and i have offer legislation to stop. Youve heard me, i dont mean to be rude or disrespectful, would you agree to all of the elements of the framework ive outlined just now to provide real protection . I think all the issues youve identified are very important ones. The most part, i agree with each and every one of those. The proposal you have in front of us from both the nca and i believe a five were provided in response from the Commerce Committee to specific issue of name, image and likeness legislation and was not an intention to address a list of issues. Those issues were not excluded purposely as much as it was a response to a request from your colleagues in the Commerce Committee. I was on the Commerce Committee, i am now that conducted the hearing recently where you testify. Id like you to broaden the lands and include these basic rights, come back to us in agreement you will support them and i think we need to broaden the lens, not only for the rights but as to the Racial Injustice we are seeking to correct. As for the autonomy proposal, im glad to see youve engaged. I must admit ive been disappointed. We are told theres a need for National Uniformity but this bill gives schools wide discussion in unchecked discretion to establish their own work without any uniformity. Congress is asking us to deny the power to set rules that this bill would allow the schools to set rules. Companies that have deals with the school, competitors of those companies, any company that, in the schools judgment, would undermine the reputation of the school. The athletes would have an il right in theory but not practiced. If schools can prohibit students from contracting with companies that have deals with the school and number two, companies that compete with those companies and number three, companies that allegedly undermine the reputation of schools, what companies are left for the students . I think that is the question. Not to mention a school, even if it didnt have a substantial contract with the company, it can go out of its way to close off various Companies Just because it has the power to do it. Theyre interested in a certain, maybe its a competitor or industry untapped. School can run out and basically prohibit them by making a small deal here or there so theres so much to be gained in the whole system and ill leave it at th that. Chairman graham asked about inducement, any kind of restriction like that, congress can do directly. Dont get the nca power, its been a bad actor in that way in many ways. Congress can put forth legislation to prohibit the inducement of a prospective athletes with nil deals. If we could, we will do another round. Thank you. Thank you to all four of you for being here. I had a bunch of questions that i think senator booker will go down so i will pivot a little bit, i will leave him those questions and he will talk about football in his statement. He made a pledge to recognize the team so that will take up most of his second round, i think. Thank you for being here, doctor emmett, wondering if we could start with you. These are not hostile questions, they are genuinely sort of partially confused questions about the tangled set of issues, it seems to me a lot of the medical risk and loss of value issues are at the forefront of a number of them in the name, image and likeness our first mostly just because theyve bubbled up from the states because of response to lawsuits but id love to have you help clarify for us, i think california at first but the state statute is inoperative until 2023. A bunch of other states are set to be operative in 2021. Can you help us get a sense of what you think the inertia of motion path is if congress does nothing . What happens in 2021 and 2022 . There are a number of states that have either proposed language changes and statues that would have an impact on this question, some of which are varied, some include even revenue sharing models with student athletes that would convert into something on the order of direct payment to the athletes. And everything in between and the california model which also includes the use of name, image and likeness in areas schools already have established sponsorships. The state bills are already variable. I know that many states are considering this issue not just because they want to improve the opportunities for students but they also want to make sure their competitive in the state universities and can be competitive in the bidding wars that senator graham is describing so they are hastening through similar kinds of legislation or expanded to be more permissive and those that exist in other cases. I want to be really clear that we are not seeking broadbased trust exemptions to do anything other than try to resolve this particular issue. Its a case that we are going to have a patchwork of state laws, they are going to be conflicting as things currently stand. They are going to create significant disruptions in the recruiting process because we dont draft students, students are free to make choices about the school they want to attend and team they want to play for, injecting into the direct inducement is very problematic. I think thats less what the sender is describing. Setting aside name, image and likeness building from the sta state, but senator booker and blumenthal are raising important questions that we dont have a lot of shared data on. Does the ncaa have data, im sure he do but have you shared with us or could you share with us macro data on what happens to athletes by different sports when injured for the rest of their career . The finish school, how many dont finish school but didnt have the option financially, how many had financial opportunity available to them to continue the remainder of the time. The medical risk question, is there a data set we can look at . There is and would be happy to share that with you and the rest of the committee. I agree Sanders Blumenthal and booker are raising important questions and ones that are worthy of conversation. Wed be more than happy to engage in those discussions and provide any information we have available. Thank you. My team and i will follow up with request and i went to see whatever data is useful to you. The answer a little bit to the loss of value insurance policies that they have in the middle of their experience, is there any broad market for Something Like that . Of the considered covering the premiums for that for a broader range of athletes . The policies today allow universities themselves to cover those policies. I cant speak to the marketplace for them. He has probably seen them up close with an eye have, they are rarely used because they are very expensive. I dont know of any example in which one of those policies actually paid out. They are attractive to some individuals for obvious reasons but their effectiveness is unclear to me. We will follow up with more questions about that but my time is up. Thank. Senator booker. Thank you very much. Doctor emmerich, you said or seemed to indicate they are a leader when it comes to health and safety issues. I just want to say for the sake of the committee and the record, the problems we have when it comes to health and safety of College Athletes. For example, my office spoke to a former investigator who was not ask a single time to investigate a program for not following cias congressional protocol. The was, he told my office even if they are found not to follow the concussion protocol, there was no enforceable penalties for that program. What you say thats true . It probably is true, i dont know the circumstances to what youre describing their are not prescribed in the enforcement branch, they are not prescribed penalties for failure to follow those particles. I guess those are the points. We are having a conversation since the last time we had a conversation, about a lot of the glaring issues that have now affected another six years of College Athletes that affects the health, safety and wellbeing still not addressed. In at the last hearing, you made statements that gave me hope but six years is a long time to wait. For example, you still support a warning College Athletes a scholarship for life . You are talking about one year renewable scholarships it seems like youre trying to say thats not the case but a lot of us believe the challenges and people have, for example in 2014, you agreed with me was a problem just like when i was in school, College Athletes still today, reporting spending 40, 50 or 60 hours a week toward the sport. It was a study done in my conference, the pack 12 or half of student athletes said they didnt have the time to study. So again, use the words, student athlete over and over but you indicated in a hearing we have a real crisis with kids, student athletes cannot get their education for years but are being denied potential of cutting back even when they are earning millions of dollars for the university. Do you still believe we should be awarding scholarships for life . Young people can come back and get their degrees . I do. Each of those three areas since weve last discussed in a previous setting, weve made significant progress in each of those areas. Since our last conversation, we become the world leader in the science and understanding concussion by having more invested in research in the area and any other entity. Weve strengthened and renewed the concussion protocols to where they are more scientifically based in reverse today. Being followed as far as we can tell by every school weve looked at, weve made significant progress on that front and the data supports the. Ive only got one minute left. With all respect, knowing theres a problem, setting up protocols for the problem, but having nothing to enforce the rules, it seems to be problematic. I know for athletes who do things wrong, like an athlete who sells the jersey to get a little bit of money so their family can fly out to see them, there are strict consequences enforced regularly for athletes that make those mistakes. But it would come to the health of their brain, what we now know about traumatic brain injury, the fact that youre not enforcing the standard is exactly the problem. I could go through so many elements of the sport and what im trying to say for my colleagues, there are things you have said your self that need to be changed, upwards of six years ago that still have not changed. There are things we know about the sport and its dangers all have researched but nothing has changed. We have athletes who say themselves they have problems affording food, they have problems studying but the rules and accountability has not been changed. Now they are running to us because states have tried to put into rules to create more fairness and it seems only responsible that we, as a body, should put first and foremost the education, the health and safety of our students because you all are not enforcing standards to give any insurances in the athletes themselves of this is happening. You just made a comment that you have spoken to me, you have not spoken to me. Six years since weve been here, you and i have mutual friends. They say very good things about you as a person and a leader, im opening invitation brought you to meet with the group of bipartisan senators, ill open it on both sides so we can talk about what your plans are to address these things that are unacceptable. And put our students, athletes in danger. There are other questions i would ask about name, image and likeness but it seems like we havent had an opportunity in six years talk about the Serious Health challenges facing student athletes, the serious challenges to getting an education and yet, in cia since the last time i talked with you has made hundreds of millions of dollars and i will conclude by saying in a time in our nation going through racial reckoning, the fact that africanamericans are disproportionately represented in the sport the bring in billions of dollars for what acts like a cartel and yet, cant even afford to have meals when youre hungry, cant even afford to have their families see their games, i could go through the stories that have been the same since i played College Sports. Is unacceptable so in good faith, i ask you to sit down with the supposed working on student bill of rights because i know there are things in your heart, at least from our mutual friends say, they do believe in. Why cant we move forward on the name, image and likeness, why cant the ncaa put into the rules and regulation things better protecting our College Athletes, give them fairness and stop this decades long exploitation of disproportionately black and brown student athletes. Thank you. I look forward to the conversation and as i said, i believe weve made substantial progress on each of those issues i look forward to discussion with you. I promise you by the 15th of september, we will try to produce a product about that. One quick question, is there a limit on how long it takes you to get to the school . If you play football for years, and will they continue to give a scholarship until youre willing to come back to school . Yes. Especially our Football Program and certainly other programs, we have what amounts to lifelong fellowships. That no burden to the university . No. Thank you so much for holding this hearing. Im the chairman of the antitrust subcommittee and as the chairman subcommittee, im interested in the competition side of todays hearing. I understand there are two legislative proposals before us that deal with allowing student athletes to earn money by licensing rights to their name, their image and their likeness. On one hand, we got the ncaa, the de facto collegiate athletics cartel which is proposing the ncaa itself be brought antitrust immunity and come up with rules for its members on its own. On the other hand, the conferences are backing a bill that would write the rules themselves into federal law, creating new Regulatory Office of the federal trade commission and be funded by tax on agents that would inevitably get passed on to the students to be represented by those agents. These bills take different approaches but they share one important thing in common, they asked the federal government to displace competition. It would be insufficient to call it ironic that two groups supposedly dedicated to facilitating little Competition Among others are so reticent to engage in competition themselves. Id like to start, with that said, why should we let the free market protect our longstanding antitrust laws, including recent president precisely on this issue just play out naturally. Why should the government the tipping the scales one way or the other . Thank you for one of the most important question because the very core of this issue. I am not a lawyer or leader legal scholar of any kind but i certainly believe the fundamental principle here is that in order to allow the name, image and likeness opportunities for student athletes to occur in a truly open marketplace, those media rights for sponsorship were social influencer revenues that could come to those students should not be distorted by the interests of boosters who may or may not care about the real value of the individuals marketing capacities or impact on marketing decisions but indeed, want to interject simply to induce a specific school or university i understand youre trying to get at here, i do think one does not have to be a lawyer or legal scholar or even someone who is an expert in Public Policy to see when somebody is trying to take their existing sphere in a particular competitive environment and have it grafted into federal law one way or another, one does have to ask these questions. As a representative of the school in a conference, i assume youre familiar with the bill proposed by the power of five conferences. Got some questions on the including Section Three d4 of the bill would allow rules that would prohibit a student from licensing his or her rights to the institution sponsor section 3ci also allows institutions to prohibit students from licensing their rights to competitors, to an institutional sponsor. Will this rule out a vast majority of potential sponsors for student athletes . I think consensus principles were put forward by the conferences, there is time and opportunity for debate to get these rights. We dont look at these as being rules enacted and accepted by all the membership of the ncaa, these are guidelines for further discussion. This statement cannot speak to the interest of biologically female athletes. Do you stand by the statement made by the ncaa . Senator i do, its an extremely challenging issue obviously. Working very closely with us and ioc to keep our policies with Transgender Athletes and the first to admit its a challenging issue to find the right balance. Ask unanimous consent for the declarations regarding their experience against his tender athletes. Thank you mr. Chairman coming back to the antitrust issue i have read your written testimony can you give us your views about antitrust violations . With the ncaa request. Thank you for that question. Talking about the progress those are because of antitrust lawsuits and with the one year scholarship to be an people used to be one year scholarship only because us doj investigated on the issue to get thousand dollars a year was 14000 per year with compensation for College Athletes this hearing today would not have taken place because california would never have the ability to address the issue. Instead of a blanket exemption you would prefer a more targeted action. Explained not to us. In the issue raised from the beginning we are agreeable to a solution that congress can put that directly in legislation with those ideal author on offers. Doesnt have to be in the hands of the conferences. Were supposed to be about free markets. If congress rights legislation for oversight with agency and advisers who should be in charge of those issues should it be ftc or another entity quick. It needs to be an outside entity. I like the idea of some sort of oversight that the really important issue that studentathletes will need someone they can go to with the requisite expertise to figure out fair market value and come up with the terms not complied with hopefully federal law there needs to be some sort of oversight that unqualified people in unsavory agents are not taking advantage of intercollegiate athletes i believe the ncaa was in the best position. And the broader question how do you feel that legislation would affect the recruitment process . You see this yourself every day are there any adverse effects that concern you . Thank you for the question is become to an understanding of the guidelines and allowing the student athletes of their rights are and how they get to the process, the more this is put out there, it will be a novelty but conferences in general understand this i dont believe it will be that big of an issue as long as all the rules are the same throughout the country. Thats what so important here. We will do a quick second round was talking to my colleagues that it seems to me there is a lot of interest on the committee to come up with the National Standard with the basic rights package for the athlete for the college experiences to have some basic rights and also deal with a handful of athletes of College Athletics and that you dont get into a bidding war for their premier athletes and by september the 15 to Start Working Group and with the ncaa. One last question to the best that you can what does the future look like given the path we are on if congress does nothing in what is your take away from this hearing . Thank you for that question my take away right now there is a lot of really good questions out there but there is some misinformation one of the things that really struck me you cannot take away scholarships from student athletes that are injured i have been in the conference for over 15 years ive never seen that happen. Something that is important to understand also the student athletes experience better over the last ten years student athletes in 2020 has more opportunity for whatever reason how that came about. I do understand there are various sources but regardless today they have a better experience than they did a few years ago. But as we continue down this path we have to keep an open mind but we have to understand is the director of athletics i serve over 470 athletes over 19 sports and we do have a number that im sure all of you understand and recognize to have incredible opportunities that we need to do that thoughtfully and to impinge on the recruitment process currently in place. Thank you for participating in making the point about the autonomous five but you wouldnt battle for all the schools across the nation and you might not even want to vouch for all of the schools in the autonomous five cents you are testifying to congress and there is a penalty for perjury to mislead congress. What i think is striking at different times of treatment i respect the point you have made which is the reason we really want to reach out to work toward a framework that we have outlined with what we think are necessary like improved educational outcomes and Health Care Coverage and support with injuries and institutions and accountability across College Sports and an Oversight Panel. Its really important. A Permanent Commission led by policy experts and academics who make sure these rules are faithfully adhered to. A lot of the points have been very productive. I want to ask about an issue that really concerns me in this moment with a lot of schools are bringing students back and i would appreciate your response to a question we put you in a letter if you will commit to opposing any waivers of responsibility on colleges and putting that exclusively on students so in effect that they waive their right. Categorically i am opposed to it. Its inappropriate for schools to be doing. Thank you let me ask you senator booker and i introduced the college and pandemic safety act to enforce that rage across the country i assume you would support that bill . Not remembering all the details but the general direction i was very supportive of. Could you tell me why you think the antitrust community the broad blanket exemption should go to colleges . Think the issue we really trying to be wrestle with is how do we do multiple things . The most importantly is to provide opportunities for students to monetize their name and likeness and create some guardrails that will limit the inappropriate engagement of boosters and other parties to use that opportunity to inflate or distort the marketplace with those real market values of student athletes for the sole purpose to get a school to on a student to go to one school over another and those have provoked action that make it extremely difficult for us or other entities that is responsible as i said earlier my comments i believe the ncaa should be in the middle of this arrangement i think its inappropriate but whoever is responsible needs to be provided with sufficient protection to take prudent action to do so without cost of litigation i think this should be narrowly tapered to the single question. We can talk about it but i want to remind everyone again that you are asking us for exemption and preemption and time is not on your side. I would suggest you should appear game all of these other protections so one last question the ivy league is the first conference to cancel fall sports has the ncaa began to consider the possibility sports will not be played and what are the metrics you will consider to determine the . The word of governors as we sadly cancel the ncaa championships in march madness we have been monitoring these routinely. s with the regularly scheduled Board Meeting in less than two weeks its a very important topic of conversation around whether or not to we can make a determination on championships. The ncaa doesnt have oversight over the regular season competition but the decisions the board of governors and those individuals make whether or not to hold the fall championships and other sports will be pivotal. We will provide the opportunity but only in the context to be provided safely is a very challenging environment to say the least. I have additional questions for the record. The ncaa signaled support for allowing College Athletes to transfer one time without penalty but it seems they have since walked it back to you will support allowing them to attend the institution of their choice without being forced to sit out or. Year of eligibility . Yes. But the entity that was walking on that was division i they simply were unable to deal with that during the pandemic and move that to januarys. Thats what i find is one standard for coaches and other professionals with College Football but students are held to a different standard. Is happy to hear moving in that direction but on that note if i can for the record , you said earlier there are many points you have to clear up but only gave one example whether or not they should lose their scholarships but can you submit for the records what we have gotten wrong . Catholic thing that seems to have been taken issue with that ill say for the record the fact maybe its a fact in your belief that why not just and that and make these fouryear scholarships . Another double standard is the conferences have argued the potential for the rules across states have a competitive advantage they argue different rules across states would destroy competitive equity in College Sports. Now the highest paid head coach in america more than four times the head coach salary for syracuse. The recruiting class ranks in the top ten and always ranks number one in the ace conference. Its worth noting the only other is a second hide highestpaid behind clinton. Even the facilities are you telling me they are not competitive disadvantage one school over another . But those were done consciously and through the board of trustees there are no public dollars. Im not arguing at all im just simply saying that as this applies to students is a double standard because its not applied to the millions of dollars spent from coaching facilities and more. And the coaches are held that the students are always getting the raw end of the deal. The very famous about coach was his persuasiveness and then another School Called me right up to recruit me for that school. The student cant transfer without having a penalty. I you can understand i support but this is so plainly hypocritical and the double standard when it comes to what Young Athletes face especially with this hollow argument of competitive disadvantage. Ever talking about the transfer legislation, we have been supportive of that because this is there one chance to make it. It makes perfect sense. Coming from South Carolina treating football as a religion is if we dont watch it very few coaches get paid a lot of money and lose over time but those that never played it down they would pay a bunch of money and thats what i worry about we get into a bidding war it takes us forward in an unseemly manner. And with thes football alumni. Thank you. Its been a great year. I can see why people focus on the recruiting aspect. It is a big deal but the name and likeness is paramount for students that are at the schools and its not even in a title ix issue. Young lady i know that you have heard of she was the most popular athlete on campus and the quarterback would have made more money than she did with name and likeness i just want to make sure we are not just focus on the recruiting aspect that the legislation as it relates to the athletes. He never played but a social phenomenon. So social media i have friends because they make money on social media that they cannot monetize. I know what you are saying. If you strike a chord with the public than that is what the free market is all about. Thank you to all panelist it has been an excellent you serve the committee well. The next panel may come forward please. Thank you chairman and senator blumenthal and distinguish members of the judiciary committee, on behalf of the university of pittsburg pittsburgh, thank you for providing me the opportunity to testify on the issue of gambling on Intercollegiate Athletics i am the that the director of university of pittsburgh our goal is to foster lifechanging experiences academically personally and socially currently i serve on the council as well as the board of directors served as the Vice President for michigan use the university before that i spent 15 years at ohio state. Now im a proud product of Intercollegiate Athletics and senator booker claimed to be on the value of the intercollegiate experience i was a student athlete at the university of michigan and earned my degree in education. Throughout my 25 year career in College Athletics institutions of had to handle multiple challenges that gambling was not one the decision on profession or an amateur sports in gambling and intercollegiate sports there is important decision Justice Alito explained congress can regulate directly but not to do so they are free to act on their own unfortunately congress has not legislated in this area but 18 states have through various state laws while gambling through certain jurisdictions with certain athletic events while neighboring jurisdictions prohibit this activity the Student Athlete Advisory Council opposes gambling on College Sports but as was intended in the sports protection act and has been for so long. Urges committee to consider three key issues one our student athletes wellbeing , the integrity of amateur competition, and the impact on all Higher Education. To have a corrosive and detrimental impact on student athletes but those pressures and temptations should not exist in my professional sports student athletes exist within that ecosystem and they are already subjected to Community Pressure we can all relate to the pride on a win or a loss of gambling is permitted the likelihood could depend on the afternoon game and that could make a difference him then performing are not performing and with social media messages about and the student athletes to get a glimpse of the pressures that they face these messages pale in comparison from when a fan has a big bet or money on the game think of your own social media accounts and the responses you receive with the outcome of those decisions now imagine the messages theyll receive if gambling is legal these pressures and threats become real lets not forget about the general student body who will not be immune thats detrimental decisions can happen to young adults it is reasonable to foresee racking up large Credit Card Debt on egg biggame. This online betting placing bets at any time is a click of a button. Before placing bets even if they prohibits from gambling from widespread negative effects. Professional sports teams are drastically different and the athletes are less susceptible. Universities have those are not able to monitor everyone with the reputation of the institution chairman graham mentioned the advent is significant so for example who gets the jump ball and they increase the scenario the opportunity for student involvement student athletes could be easily persuaded to throw a ball or instead of a strike on the first pitch to rationalize is not truly impacting the outcome and tarnishing the integrity of the game and finally began being gambling on College Sports for those that already offered those that permit sports gambling have recognize the dangers and then gambling on teams in their home state against competition for example new york allows sports but prohibits sports in College Gambling for any sport taking place in the state of new york they may not bet on the syracuse game but allows bets on football games. For them to protect their own students and universities they are willing to allow the impact of the rest of the country College Athletics is an integral part of College Education and they told me the decisions we make every day if you have children you understand the importance of that responsibility it is detrimental also may create Revenue Opportunities and will negatively impact the wellbeing of our students and ultimately undermine the integrity. Thank you again for the opportunity to speak on this issue i look forward to working with you to solve it. Thank you chairman graham, Ranking Member blumenthal and members of the committee, appreciate the opportunity to testify today. As president and ceo of the american gaming Institution Association legal Sports Betting has greatly expanded with the professional and amateur protection sports act were passed in 2018 this important ruling unable states and nations on tribal nations to decide whether to allow bedding in their jurisdiction this is overturn 22 states and the district of columbia have authorize Sports Betting in fact only three states have not made moves. Since that ruling the american industry is remain focused on getting Sports Betting right we continue to prioritize Consumer Protection robust oversight to unlock vital economic resources. Americans have been betting on sports as long as there has been sports to bet on an estimated 150 billion per year been illegally clearly the federal prohibition did not eliminate Sports Betting with only would drive it underground illegal Gaming Operations fuel other criminal activities with important protections for consumers and athletes and the bets placed on them. Thankfully operating under regular regular oversight with transparency Consumer Protection endgame integrity more americans now have access to legal Sports Betting than ever before the at the market continues to thrive in part because of continued restrictions and by widespread confusion of the legality easy to access offshore Websites Research found while the overwhelming majority think its important only to bet through legal providers most participate unknowingly in the illegal market it is critical to address this for continued legalization Consumer Education and a sustained crackdown on illegal Sports Betting in the us at the same time the responsibility for integrity must be shared just as we share in the Economic Opportunity we all share in those risks associated with scandals no one has a greater vested interest than legal gaming operators in fact licenseds book on sports books have been the first to uncover match fixing or betting patterns to alert regulators but still concerns remain if athletes are more susceptible to corruption and we share this concern believe its the most compelling reason to bring this activity out of the shadows and under the protection of the 4000 dedicated gaming regulators across the country. Billions of dollars are waged annually on events like march madness and the College Football playoffs and this did not begin with the invalidation. Any efforts to ban legal wagering simply ignores the fact there is significant demand for betting on College Sports. They will unequivocally have demand therefore the real policy question is not if Sports Betting will occur but if it should take place through legal or illegal channels. Tj opposes any framework and instead the primary role of the federal government should remain enforcement against the illegal marketplace to represent the most meaningful solution to help ensure the integrity of sports we also urge congress to repeal the federal excise tax with no specific policy goal to put them at a competitive disadvantage. Increased efforts protect consumers and the integrity of competition and the bets placed while leveling the Playing Field to play by the rules. Protecting the integrity of the competition the central to the interest of the entire Sports Betting ecosystem. Federal prohibition was a failed endeavor and should not be replicated. Instead we should Work Together to further eliminate to support experience regulators whose oversight protects the interest and integrity of all involved. The egas unwavering to establish legal Sports Betting markets for vulnerable athletes and integrity and competition. Thank you. Thank you very much. How do you respond to the argument that the biggest threat of the integrity of College Athletics on the gambling side is from the illegal gambling versus legal . Thank you for the question. I would argue when you have illegal gambling there are certain people willing to take on those illegal acts. The population of people is probably much less then when you legalize it. But it leads to more gambling is what you are saying. Yes. More people are able to do it more opportunity and more pressure when it is legalized. Senator in 2018 in march prior to the Supreme Court making its decision , 10 billion was estimated was that on march madness. 97 percent was a legal. During the period of time with full legalization they were betting on sports that was quite prevalent. Would you say most of that 97 percent was office pools . I tend try not to talk about the office pool. Is just but i think. I think there is a lot of betting in the office pools they fill out the sheet but none of us will influence the outcome of the game because we put in 20 and could win 200. Im not saying thats right but its a different problem than those that are in the business if they made a lot one way or the other. So this demand, i know what you are saying about the demand, but what were talking about is the ability to affect the integrity of the game for those were in the business. And put a legal gaming site out of business because the gaming industry is regulated. What i want to try and make sure that we do is betting on College Sports has happened for a long period of time. But it has been done by individuals and i you have 18 states i found it odd that new york will let you bet why . There are a number of Different Reasons talking to former governor Chris Christie there is a similar provision in new jersey and as you know quite well from the process of legislating universities in state. I will give you my own opinion. People dont want to do this in their own backyard. Heres the problem i have. You talk about prop betting is that what you call it . So you can that whether or not the first play will be a run or a pass . Thats correct. Can you do that legally . Not really. I think the super bowl. I meet in College Athletics. Each state governs. I be willing to say thats about practice for College Athletics to bat on to bet if there is a pass or run . Sports books want to ensure the integrity of the activity they only put a line on something they believe is subject tos. Im saying that seems to be uncontrollable even with amateur athletes they will not make a bunch of money how much money could you make if you are a trainer on the team when you tell somebody the first play will be a pass . I dont know what the right answer is but i really do appreciate your summary of the effect on the game and the people in your business to pay taxes, work hard and i think nothing against the industry when i go to vegas i always lose. But the bottom line is a do worry about the integrity of the sport but the constitutional argument is that congress cannot direct estate to do something they can prohibit the state and they took that legislation to outlaw versus saying you are prohibited. I think we could fix that problem if we went to go down that road i will give you 30 seconds why the demand for college betting should not keep us from trying to deal with legal gambling. College athletes are totally different from when you gamble in professional sports. With that parallel existence they are on a College Campus so this is their profession. College student athletes are uniquely susceptible. I have seen perils of in College Athletics and one more threat with the increase of College Gambling is unnecessary. With Online Gambling we have a concern about that was some pretty unsavory characters. Even with Sports Betting there is jurisdiction over that. Interestingly enough as a shared with you my first day on the job as ceo it made quite an impact. As you know we have members that have different opinions as it relates to online but as it relates to Sports Betting as they begin their legislative proposals they recognize the oversight so mobile betting to that degree is intrastate. Thank you to the Panel Members today. And with those numbers or statistics so how big of a danger is match fixing and realistic term . I dont know if we can quantify specifically. And that the more permissive it is the more opportunity there is to do it. And the more temptation there will be. They linger outside the facilities. And outside the arena. And nowadays with social media to give such access. It with a tremendous amount of exposure that they have and then those threats and pressures and then to ignore them. And ill assume the name image and likeness if there is competition because there is some competition legally . In the reality is that may lessen the temptation a bit. What is your feeling of the prevalence . Thank you senator blumenthal. It is unclear. Number one and there are state laws against match fixing in each state. The history is that match fixing has been discovered almost every time by the legal operators that recognized betting activity. I absolutely believe in the legal construct we are now beginning to see, understanding it will be much easier for Law Enforcement to identify the regular activity for those who make those suspicious bets then it was when it was not a legal operation. And is it your sense broadly organized crime not what was known as organized crime in the forties or fifties, but that organized criminal networks that engaged in Sports Betting still have a role. They do. We have done recent research around Consumer Behavior and 52 percent of people that believe they are betting on legal sites it is illegal sites but the prevalence of which they can open their cell phone and get to the ill legal offshore website is just as easy as to get to any other item on your cell phone. The illegal activity that takes place continues. So our job as we continue to rollout illegal transparent consumer friendly and Consumer Protection oriented Sports Betting operation our job is to create psa campaigns that has been predatory with no issues around gambling et cetera. I would appreciate any Additional Information on this topic. Thank you and thank you to the director congratulations on your success at university of pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is the only team to beat clemson at home in years. [laughter] we are adjourned and you may submit questions for the record in the appropriate time. Thank you. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] state steven begin testifies this is two hours and 15 minutes. Thank you for coming today. Thank you for being here is an honor to have deputies secretary of state here today to testify on policy on the peoples republic of china originally we plan to hold the steering back in march