WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement in response to President Trump’s executive order on college athletics:

 

“Trump’s executive order has nothing to do with protecting college sports. This is about protecting the profits of the NCAA bosses, shielding them from antitrust accountability, and weaponizing an NLRB that’s soon to be stuffed with Trump loyalists to block athletes from having a seat at the negotiating table. The multibillion-dollar college sports industry simply would not exist without the labor of college athletes, and it’s a self-serving lie to claim that athletes that dedicate thousands of hours every year training, traveling, and playing are amateurs without the right to unionize and collectively bargain. Trump’s shameless giveaway to the NCAA is bad news for the health, safety, and livelihoods of these athletes and further proof that the only people he’s looking out for are his billionaire buddies.”

 

This week, Murphy introduced in the U.S. Senate the College Athlete Right to Organize Act (CARO), legislation to codify the right of college athletes to unionize and collectively bargain for fair compensation and better working conditions. Murphy also introduced the College Athlete Economic Freedom Act  to expand and codify the right of college athletes to be fairly compensated for the use of their Name, Image, and Likeness.