A pair of Congressional Republicans are introducing legislation that would limit the number of foreign athletes on collegiate sports teams.
The Training and Education for American Members in University Sports and Athletics (TEAM) Act would prevent international athletes from making up more than 20% of a roster in any sport. The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH).
It would be enforced by amending the Higher Education Act to tie federal funding to the quota.
Idaho lawmakers proposed a similar bill on the state level earlier this year, but it was abandoned after pushback from coaches and athletic directors. That proposal targeted scholarship allotments for international athletes more than roster spots.
ALSO: The Protect College Sports Act cleared its first procedural vote in the Senate yesterday by a 74-24 margin, moving closer to a final vote.
The TEAM USA Act is almost assuredly going nowhere because of college basketball.
Case in point: Florida, expected to be the men’s preseason No. 1 team, currently has a roster that is almost 50% made up of international players. You think the Sunshine State’s senators are going to want to vote yea? And this will be a bipartisan tension. Illinois is expected to be preseason top-5 and its roster is 35% international, for example.
However: These sorts of bills are likely going to keep popping up, and at some point one of them might stick. That is going to impact youth sports, but not necessarily in the way that will be sold.
As I wrote about the Idaho bill in February:
This bill — and potential copycats elsewhere — would be very convenient for schools looking to cut sports. They already want to dump programs like golf and tennis that have international-heavy rosters. Now they can point the blame at politicians rather than acknowledge they would rather use the money to pay the football team.
Yes, there would probably be some sports — women’s volleyball comes to mind — where a limit on international athletes creates more opportunities for American athletes. But the net result would likely be fewer overall roster spots for kids because of teams being cut.
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