A bi-partisan group of lawmakers in Congress is pushing legislation that would allow the federal government influence over how the NCAA treats its student-athletes.
According to the Huffington Post, Reps. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), John Katko (R-N.Y.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) will soon introduce the National Collegiate Athletics Accountability Act.
"The NCAA's stated goal is to protect the welfare of student athlete with an 'increased emphasis on athletics and academics,'" the HP quoted Dent saying at a press conference addressing the bill. "Bluntly, the NCAA has failed in my view - has failed miserably."
President Barack Obama and other lawmakers have openly criticized the NCAA for its handling of various issues facing student-athletes. The bill would require stricter concussion protocols, fully guaranteed four-year scholarships and a more defined process for students accused of one or more infractions.
"Many will ask the question why Congress is getting engaged in this," Beatty said at the presser. "The reason is, talk is not enough."
The lawmakers also proposed forming a commission to make recommendations on how to address the lessening importance of academics for certain student-athletes in major Division I sports.
For example, one-and-done players are the subject of much debate in Division I men's basketball, but the NBA sets the requisites for draftees, not the NCAA. The lawmakers appear willing to address this issue, but only if the NBA does not change its current policy.
"It has become a corporate colossus that is more concerned with money than they are concerned with the student-athlete," Katko said at the press conference.
