LOS ANGELES — A California legislator is proposing that the state create a commission to protect the health and safety of collegiate athletes, something the bill says the NCAA and school athletic departments have failed to do.
The commission and its rules would apply to every competing college athlete in the state, from a community college volleyball player to an NFL-bound university football star, and to injuries from lifelong brain degeneration to sprained ankles.
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, discussed the bill in a conference call with reporters Wednesday, the eve of the NCAA Tournament, the basketball extravaganza that is the organization’s biggest showcase.
“March Madness is kicking off and millions of eyes will be glued on every moment of drama and athleticism on the court, but shockingly, despite the billions of dollars that college sports generates nationally, nobody is watching out for the health and safety of the players,” Gonzalez Fletcher said.
Messages seeking comment from the NCAA, the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors and the Pac-12 Conference were not immediately returned.
Many of the regulations and guidelines would be created by the commission once it’s established, but AB-1435, the Athlete Protection Act, lays out some specifics of its mission.
It would give special emphasis to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the degenerative neurological disease linked to football that has led to a $1 billion legal settlement in the NFL and serious scrutiny of the game at every level.
