Sep 18, 2026 · 56 min
Athletes challenge a bill they say threatens women’s sports
This Bill Will Decimate Women’s Sports with Meghann Burke, Erin Drake, Jada Williams and Oluchi Okananwa
The episode examines whether congressional college-sports legislation would protect athletes or entrench unequal power, revenue, and enforcement.
- 1The guests argue the Protect College Sports Act could deepen revenue disparities and weaken Title IX protections for women athletes.
- 2Athletes say meaningful representation and collective bargaining are necessary to secure safety, medical care, scholarships, and fair revenue sharing.
- 3The discussion frames organizing and athlete education as essential safeguards against major policy changes made without players’ input.
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Megan Burke explains how women athletes could face compounded harm from unequal revenue distribution and weakened Title IX enforcement.
The brief
Sarah Spain convenes Megan Burke, Oluchi O’Connor, Jada Williams, and other advocates to examine the Protect College Sports Act and who stands to benefit from it.
The guests challenge the bill’s stated concern for women’s and Olympic sports, arguing that football and men’s basketball already command disproportionate revenue and spending.
Athletes describe why NCAA antitrust protection without player input would leave transfer rules, medical care, scholarships, safety, and retaliation protections subject to unequal power.
Megan Burke argues women athletes could be harmed twice: through unequal revenue distribution and weakened Title IX enforcement, with consequences reaching professional opportunity and financial independence.
The conversation’s proposed alternative is collective bargaining, backed by athlete organizing and education, rather than legislation shaped without the people whose lives it would govern.