Greg Sankey addresses impact of midterms on Protect College Sports Act: 'Elections have consequences'
· Yahoo Sports
Six days after the midterm elections, the House of Representatives was due to report back to Washington, D.C. on Monday after the recess. It will be a lame-duck session of Congress, though, after both the Democrats took control of both the House and Senate.
As a result, there’s a level of uncertainty around the Protect College Sports Act as legislators return from the break. The bipartisan bill advanced out of the Senate by a 77-22 vote, but the House was not in session and lawmakers did not return from the campaign trail to take it up.
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Now, they’re back in Washington, D.C., but questions remain. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey realizes that and said he expects plenty of action this week, and the conference is in communication with members of Congress.
“We had an election last week and elections have consequences, as they say,” Sankey said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “I think our Senators and House of Representatives members are returning to D.C. probably as we speak. I’m certain it will be an active week in many different ways.”
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All told, more than 25 incumbent Republican members of the House of Representatives lost to Democrats in their respective races. Democrats have gained more than 40 seats in the House, according to NBC News, and took the Senate by at least four seats.
That means Congress will be returning for a lame-duck session, and as Ross Dellenger reported for On3, it impacts the Protect College Sports Act’s future. While there are questions about what exactly could lie ahead for the bill, there’s concern about attendance and how many Republicans return to work after losing their seats.
Sankey knows about the level of uncertainty for the bill in the weeks ahead. But he made clear college sports leaders have to be ready for whatever happens, whether the bill passes the House or if it doesn’t.
“As I understand, the House has some leadership decisions to make on a move-forward basis,” Sankey said. “We’ve communicated with current leadership our position. How that might move forward, given the changes that are coming, is a question mark. How we think as a league and with our colleagues is where can we provide clarity, as I mentioned, in this time of uncertainty on key issues? Some of those are embedded in the Protect College Sports Act.
“The reaction is we’ll see what comes out of the D.C. over the next few weeks. They have to fund the government … and any number of other important issues. But we’ll have to prepare with or without the PCSA.”
Greg Sankey: Congress must help set national standards
Speaking at SEC basketball media days last month, after the Protect College Sports Act advanced out of the Senate, Greg Sankey told CBS Sports the league would be ready for whichever direction the bill went. The House was not due back until the midterms and minority leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said members likely would not return to vote on the bill.
The idea of self-governance, or something similar, has also swirled for some time. Sankey said the league would be “prepared” for such discussions once again, and Monday, he said conference involvement would be important if the Protect College Sports Act does not pass.
“I want to be clear, when we were in late July and communicated support for the PCSA as currently written, it was based upon the opportunity to address some key issues like eligibility of student-athletes,” Sankey said. “And we’ve seen how that’s played out on a state-by-state basis and some of the difficulties it’s created.
“The need for Congress to address national standards remain. It’s the same, I think a healthier transfer environment for educationally based purposes for young people. The ability to oversee revenue-sharing and name, image and likeness. If those issues aren’t able to be addressed, then conferences – perhaps individually, to the extent they can legally – will have to be involved in addressing those issues directly.”