'Put The Athletes Interests First': Kevin Mullin Demands Legal Protections For Student Athletes

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During a House Energy Committee meeting to mark up the SCORE Act before the Congressional recess, Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-CA) spoke about a proposed amendment to the SCORE Act.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Mullen. Mr. Mullen is recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have an amendment at the desk,

00:13underscore 026. Clerk will read the amendment. We'll report the amendment.

00:21Amendment to H.R. 4312, offered by Mr. Mullen, page 17, line 1. Without objection,

00:28the reading of the amendment is dispensed with. The gentleman is recognized for five minutes in

00:31support of the amendment. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The college sports landscape is changing at a

00:37breakneck pace, and through all this change, Congress is entering the fray to determine what

00:42the federal government's role will be in this new landscape. I'm deeply concerned that the SCORE

00:47Act prioritizes regulatory certainty for schools and athletic conferences over protections for college

00:53athletes. That is particularly evident in the bill's lack of provisions to prevent abuses from

00:58predatory agents. This bill, as written, only requires agents to register with athletic

01:03associations. A name on a list doesn't protect a student from a predatory contract or a bad actor

01:09with hidden conflicts of interest. My amendment, co-led by Mr. Vesey, aims to close this serious

01:16gap in the SCORE Act to better protect college athletes from predatory agents. Thank you to

01:21Mr. Vesey for your partnership on this important issue. First, my amendment would codify that agents

01:27representing college athletes have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their clients.

01:33College athletes are often teenagers and young adults who have limited experience when it comes

01:39to fully understanding contracts or financial arrangements. As they navigate this increasingly

01:44complex landscape, their agents should be legally obligated to put the athletes' interests first,

01:50just like any other financial representative. Second, my amendment would direct the FTC to study

01:56the implications of establishing an independent entity to certify and regulate agents who represent

02:03college athletes. In professional leagues like the NFL or the NBA, players' associations regulate agents.

02:11If professional sports already recognize the importance of independent oversight of agents,

02:16it is only logical that we examine how a similar structure could work in college sports. My

02:22amendment ensures that college athletes have proper representation. I urge adoption of the amendment,

02:28and I yield back. Would the gentleman yield to me the remaining time? Mr. Mullen?

02:33I just wanted to support the amendment because it addresses a real issue facing college athletes and

02:42some athletes who are even younger. The issue of these sleazy agents talking young clients into

02:48contracts that are not in the client's best interest. The SCORE Act does not provide meaningful

02:53protections for athletes against greedy agents or predatory contracts, and this amendment offers two

02:59common-sense first steps to addressing these problems. First, it requires that an agent act in the best

03:05interest of the athlete, and second, it directs the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a study

03:10of how we can best create a third-party certification process for agents. So this amendment offers important

03:16steps in the right direction of protecting college athletes from agents acting in bad faith, and they are out

03:23there. So I urge my colleagues to support the amendment and yield back to Mr. Mullen. Thank you.

03:28Thank you. The chairman does recognize and thank the gentleman from California for offering this

03:35amendment, and this is another one of those areas where we believe there is common ground, and would

03:43suggest and respectfully ask the gentleman from California to be willing to withdraw with the

03:48commitment to work forward on this moving forward.

03:51With that commitment, Mr. Chair, yes, certainly I'll withdraw.

03:56Thank you. Appreciate your willingness so much to cooperate.

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