Chris Murphy’s toxic race-baiting has no place in college sports

Politics can bring out the worst in us, and when it comes to college sports, it has brought the worst out in Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT).“Look at the massive crowd behind them and tell me with a straight face that college sports are in ‘absolute chaos,’” Murphy posted in response to former Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban making the case for the Protect College Sports Act on College GameDay. “The ‘chaos’ is that (mostly black) athletes now have bargaining power and white coaches and sports industry execs hate it.”Gross. Nothing brings Americans of all colors closer together than sports and now Murphy wants to ruin that too for purely partisan gain.And the facts do not fit Murphy’s sweeping racial characterization.LSU Head Coach Lane Kiffin on the set of ESPN’s College Gameday with Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit in The Quad at LSU on Sept. 5 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Ella Hall/LSU/University Images via Getty Images) Black athletes account for just 20% of all Division I athletes and while they are more heavily represented in football and basketball, at 40% and 43%, respectively, those NCAA-wide figures are not majorities.More importantly, it was athletes of every background who wreaked havoc on the college landscape this offseason by switching teams through the transfer market.When Sam Leavitt, who is white, left Arizona State for LSU, no one blamed the departure on the bargaining power of black athletes.When Drew Mestemaker, who is white, went to Oklahoma State from North Texas, no one blamed black athletes.When Rocco Becht, who is white, moved from Iowa State to Penn State, race had nothing to do with it.And if the legislation is as racist as Murphy claims, then why is it supported by black head coaches like Colorado’s Deion Sanders, Memphis’s Penny Hardaway, and Marquette’s Shaka Smart?Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT). (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Murphy then went on to claim that, “Revenue for college sports — especially football and basketball (the ones in the supposed ‘crisis’) — is booming.” Which is true … but so are costs. A July 2026 GAO report found that 94% of Division I athletic programs spent more than they generated in athletics revenue with a median shortfall of $20.6 million. Altogether, Division I schools spent $20.8 billion on athletics in 2023-24 while generating only $13.1 billion. The difference was made up through higher tuition costs and student fees on other students.Murphy goes on to note that, “Fan interest is at an all-time high. More proof that athlete empowerment has annoyed coaches, but drawn MORE fans.” But he fails to mention that the disintegration of enforceable player eligibility rules just happened to coincide with the expanded football playoff which absolutely has increased interest in the game.Finally, Murphy gives the game away, allowing, “Sure the eligibility, transfer and compensation rules need to be cleaned up.”Cleaned up?! No sport has ever survived a situation where every player is a free agent at the end of the season.Murphy then concludes, “But college sports doesn’t need a groundbreaking anti-trust exemption for that!”But they absolutely do! Salary caps, roster limits, eligibility requirements, and enforceable multiyear contracts are all restraints of trade!! The only reason the NFL, MLB, NBA, and every other sports league are able to have these rules is because of the non-statutory labor law antitrust exemption.THE REPUBLICAN WAR ON MARRIAGEWhich is probably what Murphy wants: a union for college athletes. But it would never work for many reasons, the biggest of which is that most schools are government entities and many Republican states don’t allow government employees to collectively bargain.And that is what this is really all about. Murphy and his fellow Democrats want to hold college sports hostage until Republican states all give the Democratic Party’s most powerful interest group, government unions, even more power.