Stressing his own organization's ability to pay out $1.2 billion over 10 years to help settle an industry-changing lawsuit, NCAA President Charlie Baker also urged Congress to pass legislation that could put college sports on a better path. “When I took this job, the message I heard from Congress was clear — fix what you control first,” Baker said Tuesday in his speech at the NCAA's annual convention. “Since then, we have modernized college sports to meet the needs of today’s student-athletes. But we can’t solve every threat we face alone.”.
Baker wants Congress to deal with three issues:. — Eliminate the costly possibility of athletes becoming employees of schools. In the past two weeks, advocates and players at Dartmouth and Southern California withdrew court cases against the NCAA that could have led to unions and employment status.
— Replace more than 30 state laws with one federal statute to govern the entire college sports enterprise. — Protect the NCAA from lawsuits, the likes of which are currently taking place over eligibility issues, via some form of antitrust protection.
“The threats come from endless litigation,” said Baker, who referenced his work in shaping health-care policy as governor of Massachusetts. “I've been around a lot of litigation. Nothing like this.”. Sen. Ted Cruz appears ready to act. Baker might get his wish.
