The Let Kids Play Act was introduced yesterday by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA).
You can read more about the bill — which seeks to ban private equity from the youth sports industry — right here.
And here are some takeaways:
🤔 Tipping The Hand
It is very unlikely — if not impossible — for this bill to pass with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate.
And even if Democrats take both chambers in the midterms — they would not be able to override a veto by President Trump.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) seemed to acknowledge this — and pull the curtain on perhaps the real strategy.
“There’s a bully pulpit effect here as well. Until we can get private equity out of sports, we want to do whatever is necessary to curb the most abusive practices. As we shed more light on how these companies are hurting families, I think we have a decent shot at curbing some of those abusive and predatory practices. We’re going to fight to get this bill done, but the public relations effort here may have a shaming impact on the industry which will help kids and families.” — Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT)
Translation: Lawmakers will call it a win if anyone in the industry that is currently offsides takes the opportunity to get back onside.
🐻 Bullseye On Black Bear Sports Group
The embattled youth hockey company was the only private equity-tied player mentioned by name during the lawmakers’ press conference — and repeatedly.
Murphy has taken aim at BBSG before. His son plays in a BBSG-associated league and the streaming brouhaha originated with him. The recent USA Today report touched on a decades-old nonprofit in Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Chris Deluzio’s Pittsburgh area that claims BBSG put it out of business.
“If you listened to the list of abusive practices that [Deluzio] gave, Black Bear is engaged in almost every single one of them,” Murphy said.
BBSG is not backing down. It recently put out a press release touting expanded free and low-cost access at its facilities with an emphasis on Michigan locations, where the state’s attorney general has opened an antitrust probe that includes BBSG. And it told USA Today it welcomes the chance to engage on this bill.
🗣️ Embrace Debate
A slew of advocacy groups endorsed the bill, as did former FTC chairwoman Lina Khan.
Project Play was not among that crowd.
PP czar Tom Farrey commended the effort, but said the bill has “fundamental flaws” that will not fix youth sports’ accessibility and affordability issues.
"PE is a convenient punching bag, but like it or not it’s here to stay," he wrote on LinkedIn. "Private investment is everywhere in youth sports today – facilities, clubs, registration platforms. And some of it’s beneficial, like pro teams running low-cost local leagues. Do we really want the public to cover everything?"
American Economic Liberties Project’s Katherine Van Dyck — an endorsee — countered Farrey with her own LinkedIn post.
"The bill spells out a certification process for private investors to attest they don't engage in those practices and keep operating," the former FTC attorney wrote.
"Good actors are in. The low-cost local league run by a pro team has a clear path forward. ... PE in youth sports is widespread today, but 'here to stay' is a choice we make, not a law of physics. Markets take the shape we give them. Decades of ignoring competition laws and accepting the inevitable, letting extractive capital flow into youth sports the way it has, is how we got here. We can re-write the rules today to stop it and correct course."
ICYMI: We recently dug in deep on the data that Project Play and others use to frame the prevalent narratives around youth sports — narratives that are now driving federal legislation that seeks to make a sizable change to how the economy operates. We found the situation is far more nuanced than typically presented.
🪖 A Literal Arms Race
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) acknowledged something we have written about in the past — the “cold, calculating national security case” for youth sports participation.
“Less than half of Americans right now are fit enough to serve in our military,” he said. “This is a way to make sure our kids are exercising, they’re learning these values of teamwork. For those who may not take the parent argument, we can make a national security argument. But not that that’s the main impetus here.”
The national security case for youth sports is a compelling one. So is the idea that youth sports should be a sort of public utility that society enjoys protected and somewhat guaranteed access to — a stance the lawmakers did not explicitly take, but danced around a great deal.
But if so … isn’t it the responsibility of Congress to go beyond directing penalty payments into a fund and start infusing billions — and maybe trillions? — into the industry?
I am not discounting the myriad political and practical complications, concerns and unintended consequences that significant federal government involvement would bring — especially if the Pentagon suddenly has a seat at the table.
But youth sports needs capital. And if PE is off the board or demonized and diminished, there is really only one other place with the means to get it in a sustainable manner — especially if Washington is adamant about its importance.
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