Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) faced loud boos and chants of “Ted, you suck!” during an appearance on ESPN’s “College GameDay” in Austin.
Cruz joined host Rece Davis ahead of the Ohio State-Texas matchup to discuss the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at setting national standards for college athletics.
During the interview, Cruz criticized the lack of regulations surrounding the transfer portal and argued that allowing players to change schools repeatedly hurts athletes, families, and college programs.
“There are no rules, and the situation with the transfer portal, where kids go and transfer two, three, four, five times, it’s terrible for the game. It’s terrible for the players. It’s terrible for the schools, and it’s terrible for the families,” Cruz said.
He said Congress was responsible for addressing the issue because federal antitrust laws helped overturn the NCAA’s previous restrictions.
“It brings order to chaos. It protects the students, protects the student’s ability to be compensated to receive name, image, and likeness compensation,” Cruz said. “I think that’s only fair. It’s only right.”
As Cruz spoke, Texas fans could be heard chanting, “Ted, you suck!”
The crowd continued booing the Texas senator throughout the interview and did not quiet down until he left the set.