NPR’s Scott Simon and sports reporter Michele Steele discuss the legal drama in college football as professional players attempt to come back to campus and the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
Transcript
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And I wait all week to say, and now it’s time for sports.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SIMON: The new college football season – (vocalizing) – kicks off, and the WNBA goes global. Michele Steele joins us now. She writes the Steele Cut Substack on sports and economics. Michele, thanks so much for being with us.
MICHELE STEELE, BYLINE: Good morning, Scott, and good morning to anyone else working 9 to 5 today.
SIMON: Oh.
STEELE: Yeah, yeah.
SIMON: Oh, that’s such a wonderful way to make my day (ph). Look, college football season begins today. Biggest story, as it so often is, is in a courtroom. So last week, a Louisiana judge granted a temporary restraining order that a lot of group of players that had signed NFL contracts to go back to college programs. Louisiana State announced it would register two of the players, but Tuesday, the Southeastern Conference announced a new rule that would prohibit that. Where do things stand?
STEELE: It’s a mess, isn’t it?
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: And it isn’t just the SEC. All four power conferences – the Big Ten, the ACC and the Big 12 – have banned players who have been on a roster for a pro team from being able to go back to college. But that isn’t stopping players from hiring attorneys and going to the courts to secure a workaround. On Thursday, a Dallas judge actually blocked the SEC from creating rules that would punish schools for signing former pros and cleared the way for three of those players involved in the lawsuit to return to college for another season. And it’s easy to understand, Scott, why they want to go back. A good starting tight end in the SEC can make…
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: …Double what a practice squad player makes in the NFL. Plenty around college are calling foul and lamenting that the chaos is being enabled by the courts, but it’s just more of the wild, wild west in college sports, Scott.
SIMON: Yeah. The actual college football season kicks off today in North Carolina plays Texas Christian University in Dublin, and I do not mean New Hampshire. Ireland. Now, last I checked, no tariffs on this U.S. export, right?
STEELE: Don’t give them any ideas, Scott.
SIMON: Oh, yeah. Sorry.
STEELE: But, yes. America’s most popular sport, football, heading overseas again. It’s the 12th college football game played in Ireland. I didn’t realize that until reporting this out. It’s kind of billed as a win for both sides. You know, schools like it ’cause it gives their players a chance to display their skills on a global stage.
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: And the Irish sponsors – I didn’t know this – Aer Lingus covers costs for the flights. And the Irish really roll out the red carpet ’cause it’s a little bit of an economic boon for the area. And, you know, some people kind of complain that the college football traditions aren’t the same, but, you know, have enough Guinness, and you won’t know the difference at the tailgate.
SIMON: (Laughter) WNBA taking a 17-day break starting Monday to allow some of its stars to compete in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup taking place in Germany. What names will we see there?
STEELE: Who won’t you see? Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, A’ja Wilson, Angel Reese, just some of the…
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: …Big stars that are going to be on the court for the U.S. National Team. They – what’s interesting here is that these WNBA stars are taking a break from their own playoff races where they scrap against each other night after night, and they’re going to join forces, so to speak, to play for one team in search of a fifth straight championship for the U.S. National Team. And the U.S. faces off against a team that was the runner-up just four years ago, China, on Friday. So that one definitely worth watching, Scott.
SIMON: I want to salute Kinley Rasmus – 12 years old of Alabama – for her historic Little League World Series performance. What was it? – five games, 14 strikeouts. At the plate, five hits and three RBIs. Her team’s been eliminated, but, boy, she leaves memories, doesn’t she?
STEELE: I’ll say. Tied for the most strikeouts by a girl in a tournament with 14. She was dangerous with her bat too, clocking the most hits by a girl with five. So what a two-way player. And I love, Scott, the slogan that she inspired down at Williamsport – fear the bow…
SIMON: Oh.
STEELE: …’Cause she’d wear these big hair bows. And she threw six scoreless innings in her tournament opener. What a dominant force. In my – whatever she does next, she has a bright future ahead ’cause she looked like nails out there.
SIMON: Yeah. Michele Steele. Thanks so much.
STEELE: See you next time.
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