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President Donald Trump reiterated his call for Congress to enact the Protect College Sports Act during remarks at a White House celebration honoring more than 120 Team USA athletes, coaches and staff members from the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games on Thursday night. Trump pledged to sign the legislation immediately upon receiving it, emphasizing the urgency of passage before lawmakers begin their recess.
The president highlighted that collegiate athletics produced 88 percent of Team USA’s representatives at the Winter Games, characterizing the NCAA system as fundamental to American Olympic success. “I’m urging the House and the Senate to come together, bipartisan if possible and it looks like they have done, to send the bill to my desk and I will sign it,” Trump said, adding that failure to act would be imprudent.
The bipartisan measure would grant the NCAA expanded antitrust protections and establish standardized rules governing Name, Image and Likeness compensation, the transfer portal and athlete eligibility. The administration released a statement emphasizing that federal action is necessary to resolve legal uncertainties threatening college sports and Olympic programs.
Three Republican senators—Josh Hawley of Missouri, Jim Banks of Indiana and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama—filed an amendment Thursday designed to prevent the bill from superseding state laws prohibiting transgender women from competing in collegiate women’s sports. The senators worry the legislation could override existing state protections they view as critical.
The Senate begins a five-week recess Friday, leaving limited time for lawmakers to address the bill alongside their remaining legislative priorities. Whether the chamber will advance the measure before departing Capitol Hill remains uncertain.
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