Elie Mystal In this week’s Elie v. U.S ., our justice correspondent looks at the many ways Cruz’s bill threatens athletes’ labor rights. Plus: why our mail-in voting nightmare isn’t over.
Page S2From§Eachthe supper edition — 23 September 2026
Trump attends Texas-Tennessee to save bill his own party is capping to death
Hot Mic Moment
This reporter is begging management to let the political desk take this one, because sports has no business untangling a labor fight the courts haven't settled — The Nation reported September 18th that this very bill threatens the labor rights of the athletes it claims to protect, and somebody ought to say so before the mic goes hot for real.
Gushis side
This reporter watched the president take his seat for the marquee showdown between No. 1 Texas and No. 3 Tennessee Saturday, the perfect backdrop for his final push on the Protect College Sports Act.
The president's timing traces back to a request Senator Ted Cruz made wanting the bill signed live on "College GameDay" — a request this reporter recalls came right before the Senate advanced the thing by a comfortable 78 votes.
That advancing bill, per The Hill's reporting, is an NCAA-backed bipartisan package setting national rules for athlete compensation, limiting transfers and mid-season coaching moves, and locking in exactly five years of eligibility for every player in America, no exceptions.
Which brings us to the wrinkle threatening the whole operation: CBS Sports reports two senators now want to cap coaching salaries at five million dollars flat, a number that's split the bipartisan coalition before the president's even left his seat.
None of this is new for Cruz, who this reporter remembers getting a hero's welcome from the "GameDay" crowd back on September 12th when he first pitched the bill.
Trudyher side
Tennessee's ranked 14th, not 3rd — CBS Sports and Fox News both have it No. 1 Texas versus No. 14 Tennessee. Close only counts in horseshoes.
Cruz made that ask September 14th, per The Hill. The Senate vote came the next day, Tuesday the 15th — and neither The Hill nor NBC News reported a vote count, just that it advanced. Get the calendar straight before you invent the math.
"Every player, no exceptions" is your phrase, not the bill's — The Hill just says a five-year window, full stop. That same reporting also has the bill shielding the NCAA from antitrust suits and capping revenue sharing, which is the part that should worry you.
Same Saturday reporting, and it's a real fracture, sugar — plenty of coaches in this sport clear that number already, so good luck getting fifty state delegations to agree on the haircut.
Rowdy, per the Washington Examiner — not a hero's welcome, a raucous one. The vote he was pitching got delayed by the August recess, not by applause.
Save the courtroom talk for line judges — but you're right about the receipt: The Nation's September 18th piece says the bill threatens athletes' labor rights, and The Hill's reporting confirms it shields the NCAA from antitrust suits in the same breath. Go lie down before the next quarter starts.
“The president shows up courtside for the photo op while the actual bill he's selling is getting gutted back home over whether coaches should keep clearing eight figures. That's the con — wave the flag at midfield, let the real fight over who keeps the money happen where the cameras aren't. Somebody's kid is still paying full tuition either way.”
“Look, a five-million-dollar cap on coaching salaries is just fiscal responsibility protecting the Olympic sports nobody watches — it's not a giveaway to anybody. And sure, it might sink the president's own bill this same week, but that's Congress being careful, not — did I just call blowing up his signature legislation "careful"? Let's circle back.”
The receipts
The appearance comes ahead of the November midterms as the president pushes Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act to regulate collegiate athletics
President Donald Trump is attending No. 1 Texas' game against No. 14 Tennessee on Saturday, OutKick confirmed.
Two senators introduced an amendment that would cap coaches' salaries at $5 million in a move that could derail the bill's bipartisan momentum
· Cruz: Trump should sign college sports bill live on ESPN's 'College GameDay' once passed from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· Senate votes to advance bill to regulate college sports, athlete compensation from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Senate votes to move forward with Protect College Sports Act from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Cruz faces rowdy crowd at College GameDay while promoting the Protect College Sports Act from the morgue, 12 Sep 2026
· SEC legal battle with LSU could reshape college football and governance of all college sports from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.