GOP rep rips Big Ten commish after SCORE Act vote gets delayed

Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., ripped Big Ten Conference Commissioner Tony Petitti on Wednesday after a vote on the SCORE Act in the House of Representatives was delayed.

The Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act is federal lawmakers’ attempt to regulate name, image and likeness deals in collegiate athletics. The bill passed a procedural vote to bring it to the House floor but the final vote was canceled two hours before it was set to take place.

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Baumgartner is one of the Republicans in the House who is not on board with the SCORE Act. He wrote on X that the bill doesn’t treat athletes across all sports equally, doesn’t ban private equity from entering college sports, doesn’t cap coaching salaries, doesn’t fix the wild west of NIL and the transfer portal, doesn’t end widespread realignment nor does it put the proper people in charge to make decisions that would affect the landscape of college sports as a whole.

“If the Commissioner of the Big 10 would spend LESS money trying to buy votes w DC lobbyists and make MORE of an effort to STOP being a bullying jacka–, then Congress could get on with passing some reasonable legislation to fix college sports,” he added.

He agreed with Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, that the bill “isn’t ready for prime time.”

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“Congress should (form) a select committee on College Sports to untangle many of the legitimate issues raised by below,” Baumgartner wrote on X pointing to Roy’s concerns. “One of the problems this year is that 4 Committees have jurisdiction over the issue and their isn’t the coordinated focus necessary to create a need bi-partisan solution. Ultimately, it will also require the President’s involvement (precedent – Teddy Roosevelt helped Congress save college football 100 yrs ago).”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Big Ten for comment.

The White House endorsed the act on Tuesday but Roy, along with Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and Scott Perry, R-Pa., voted with Democrats to keep the act off the floor.

The SCORE Act would give the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption in hopes of protecting the NCAA from potential lawsuits over eligibility rules and would prohibit athletes from becoming employees of their schools. It prohibits schools from using student fees to fund NIL payments. Republicans could attempt to vote on the act as early as Thursday.

Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.

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