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Congresswoman Joyce Beatty

Representing the 3rd District of Ohio

Beatty Claims Victory on Athletic Scholarships

Oct 10, 2014
Press Release

Beatty Claims Victory on Athletic Scholarships

Big Ten agrees to follow through with athletic scholarship commitments

COLUMBUS, OH – U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03) claimed victory when the Big Ten Conference’s schools agreed to guarantee that any athlete who receives an athletic scholarship will be able to keep the award until they graduate.

“This is a victory for me, but more importantly this is a victory for all the student athletes that continue to be unfairly penalized when they cannot play due to a legitimate reason,” said Rep. Beatty. “Scholarships are issued for athletics, but our institutions of higher learning have an obligation to fulfill their most basic duty—educating our youth and preparing the next generation of leaders”

The Big Ten Conference announced late Wednesday night they would allow any student athlete who remains in “good standing” that interrupts their education for a “bona fide” reason to keep their scholarship. 

“I am pleased that the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA are adopting suggestions that I have put forward in Congressional legislation. Legislators, parents, fans, and student athletes are clamoring for reform of collegiate sports,” said Rep. Beatty. “With unclear or absent player safety protocols, spotty reporting on head injuries, and a severe lack scholarship certainty, more must be done to keep our student athletes safe and ensure that they get the education they need and deserve.”

BACKGROUND

An advocate for player safety and the reduction of concussions among collegiate athletes, Congresswoman Beatty highlighted Saturday's events as further evidence of the need for all stakeholders to work to ensure the safety of all student athletes. With 29,000 athletes in NCAA-sanctioned sports suffered concussions from 2004-2009, more needs to be done to address player safety.

In early September, Congresswoman Beatty joined Dr. Hainline, The Ohio State University’s (OSU) coaching staff, and OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith to discuss new guidelines on player safety issued by the NCAA. The new focus parallels much of what she has been advocating for in Congress. 

Rep. Beatty introduced the Concussion Awareness and Education Act, H.R. 3954, which would require the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense to conduct systemic research and formulate recommendations to address key components on the treatment, surveillance and prevention of concussion injuries. She is also the lead Democrat on the National Collegiate Athletics Accountability Act, H.R. 2903, that would require annual baseline concussion testing of certain collegiate athletes in addition to providing student aid assurances to student athletes who become injured and unable to play. To educate Members of Congress and their staffs, Rep. Beatty and Rep. Dent (PA-15) on November 20, 2013, held a bi-partisan Congressional briefing on the effects of concussion injuries on student athletes which featured prominent doctors and researchers, from the National Institutes of Health, world-renounced facilities, as well as Member of Congress who were former student athletes.

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