The SCORE Act Is Dead, And College Hoops Stars Say You Can't Trust the NCAA

College sports fans, listen up! The infamous SCORE Act, meant to "fix" college athletics, is officially dead. Women's college basketball players, fighting for their rights, are letting the NCAA hear it. They're telling Congress and us fans: this bill was a sham, the NCAA's agenda is clear, pure power over players.

SCORE Act: A Bailout, Not a Fix

What was the SCORE Act? SEC and Big Ten leaders pushed it as a fix for NIL and transfer portal "chaos," promising "regulation and clarity." But athletes and their allies knew better. Rep. Lori Trahan, a former Division I volleyball player, called it a "partisan piece of legislation that bails out the NCAA and the (SEC and Big Ten) by silencing athletes and rolling back the rights that they fought so hard to win."

Trahan spelled it out: "It's a choice to put the interests of the wealthiest organizations in college sports ahead of the athletes who create the value in this industry." She slammed the NCAA for prioritizing "multi-billion-dollar special interests ahead of the American people." The kicker? The bill offered NCAA sweeping antitrust protections, letting them set eligibility and compensation rules, and crucially, prohibiting athletes from being employees, stripping their collective bargaining rights. Pure power grab.

Stars Are Calling Out the NCAA's True Agenda

Good news: The SCORE Act is in limbo. House Republicans pulled it after the Congressional Black Caucus united against it, marking the second canceled vote in a year! A planned press conference to "slam the NCAA and dance on the grave of the SCORE Act" happened anyway. Charlisse Leger-Walker, UCLA national champ and Connecticut Sun rookie, didn't hold back. "The SCORE Act does nothing to solve the problems of our current system and I am glad that it’s finally dead once and for all," she declared. She blasted "the NCAA agenda" for wanting "to wield absolute power over all college athletes. They want to push women's sports back into the past. We cannot trust the NCAA to do the right thing and neither should Congress."

Oluchi Okananwa, a current Maryland player and the only active college athlete on the call, truly spoke for many. She lit up Duke, earning ACC Sixth Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP, then transferred to Maryland, becoming an All-Big Ten selection this past season, averaging 17.8 points per game. Okananwa was clear: "The NCAA has not been taking care of us. In fact, they've been doing the complete opposite." She slammed the "myth" of "just student-athletes," declaring, "We are professionals. The sheer amount of revenue college sports brings in alone, it's ridiculous not to recognize us as the professionals that we are."

What's Next for Athlete Rights?

Okananwa, Leger-Walker, Michigan's Brooke Daniels, and other advocates all agreed: athletes need a seat at the table, especially after this attempt to legislate them out of their rights. As Okananwa put it, "It's great that the SCORE Act is dead, but we do not trust the NCAA to have our best interests in mind while they're carrying on secret negotiations in the Senate without us. We need to have our voices heard." The fight for fair treatment and a real voice for college athletes isn't over. Next time legislation like this comes, our athletes better be front and center. You hear that, NCAA?

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.