Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith looks on before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
By Matt Yoder on

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The Protect College Sports Act took a huge step towards becoming law when it passed its first procedural vote in the Senate by a wide 74-24 margin.

The bill, which seeks to bring order to the increasingly chaotic world of college sports, has seen plenty of support, especially on ESPN airwaves. In particular, College GameDay has featured unabashed support for the legislation thanks to spokesperson Nick Saban being part of the panel and a controversial interview with Ted Cruz.

The legislation has bipartisan support, yes. But it also has support from people and institutions who will have the most to gain from returning power to the college sports establishment, like coaches, conferences, and even media companies. Maybe it’s no coincidence that Disney has been lobbying for its passage. And in fact, part of the bill has been revised to protect current media deals already in place.

ESPN did put forward a dissenting voice when NAACP president Derrick Johnson was interviewed on SportsCenter, but it was seen as a move to placate critics, not really to provide equal time or impact given the difference in platforms and airtime.

But one of ESPN’s biggest stars has now joined in the public questioning of the bill… just not on ESPN airwaves. On his SiriusXM show, Stephen A. Smith went in on the proposed legislation.

Smith went into much greater detail in his YouTube video, also referenced the College GameDay controversy, and said that because ESPN is showcasing some voices, it doesn’t speak for everybody at ESPN. In those comments, he addressed criticism from Mike Florio once again.

“One or two opinions doesn’t define what an entire network feels. And just because you brought Senator Ted Cruz on college football GameDay being interviewed by Rece Davis, just because you see Pat McAfee with the President of the United States meeting him on the tarmac a few weeks ago, just because you know that Nick Saban is one of the heads of the committees addressing the issues involving college sports, doesn’t speak for everybody at ESPN,” Smith said.

That’s all well and good, but if those are the only voices you see at ESPN and they happen to align with ESPN’s interests, then it gives the impression that they’re speaking for ESPN. And it’s a little bit ironic that Smith would be troubled by the NCAA sending lobbyists to Capitol Hill while ESPN and Disney are doing the same.

“Why does this stink to the high heavens? Because we’ve got lobbyists being sent by the NCAA to Capitol Hill to schmooze with, cajole with, and ultimately influence our elected officials. The student-athletes don’t have the cash capital to do that. It’s inherently unfair,” Smith said. “You are talking about limiting their rights in a capitalistic society where even a Supreme Court justice appointed by President Donald Trump by the name of Brett Kavanaugh called out the NCAA… how in the hell is something like this happening without no representation. I don’t even care if it’s collectively bargained and you all come to the same conclusions that they’ve drawn up in this bill. It doesn’t bother me.”

What bothers me is people are making decisions for young minds without making sure those young minds and those young athletes on the male and female side don’t have representation while you’re doing it. How American, how un-American is that? And nobody, none of you all out there, a bunch of wusses walking around all over the country, you all don’t speak up for this? Walking around scared out of your asses. Where you all at?” Smith asked.

While it’s strong commentary from Stephen A. Smith, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be enough to slow the passage of the legislation, given all the forces behind it. College sports do need guardrails and regulations, but it’s fair to question why athletes aren’t truly involved in these discussions, and they seem to be the ones who stand to lose the most compared to what they’ve been able to earn in NIL over the past few years.

One wonders how the optics and national debate around this issue would have evolved differently if College GameDay had brought Smith onto the panel to debate it and offer a dissenting voice for the players, instead of the weeks of unobstructed advocacy we’ve seen from Saban and others.

Of course, not many college football fans want to see a full-fledged political debate, but that’s the Pandora’s Box the show opened by becoming an active participant in showcasing voices that consistently take the same side. And it’s a reasonable criticism that throughout this entire debate and process, the voices of the players themselves have been forgotten. It’s reminiscent of the old NCAA, where they made billions for everyone but themselves.

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