Congressman Michael Baumgartner calls out Tony Petitti for ‘trying to buy votes’ amid SCORE Act delay

After a vote on the SCORE Act was delayed, a U.S. Congressman emphatically called out Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti. Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.) took to social media and said Petitti was “trying to buy votes.”

A vote on the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, but later removed from the schedule. Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported a vote will not take place this week, and it could be some time before any more action takes place.

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In the meantime, Baumgartner said Petitti’s influence could be impacting things. He made his thoughts clear in a social media post Wednesday evening.

“If the Commissioner of the Big 10 would spend LESS money trying to buy votes w DC lobbyists and make MORE of an effort to STOP being a bullying jackass, then Congress could get on with passing some reasonable legislation to fix college sports,” Baumgartner wrote on X.

The SCORE Act was on track for the House floor following a close, 210-209 procedural vote on Tuesday. Introduced in July, the bill would codify the House settlement and grant liability protection, as well as preempt state NIL laws. It would also include an anti-employment clause and usher in regulation for agents.

Tony Petitti: SCORE Act ‘an important piece’

Power conferences pushed to support the SCORE Act throughout this college football season, airing commercials and sharing social media posts encouraging passage. NCAA president Charlie Baker has also been vocal in his support and encouraged members of Congress to vote yes, according to a copy of a memo obtained by Front Office Sports.

Tony Petitti has also been vocal in his support of the SCORE Act. Speaking at Big Ten basketball media days lats month, he reiterated his stance and touted the stability it would bring to the landscape following House settlement approval.

“When I first started going down [to Washington, D.C.] when I got the job, before settlement, it felt like we were kind of asking for more help,” Petitti said. “I think once we decided to settle, we set up this model with rev-sharing, there’s still NIL … I think it changed the tone in terms of, like, we’re not really asking.

“You asked us to change, you expected us to modernize our system. The settlement does that. We’d like to protect it so that we can actually operate it. It doesn’t mean it won’t get tweaked over time, but we’d like the opportunity to actually operate this new system. The SCORE Act does all those things. I think that’s a really important piece.”

Congressional Black Caucus opposes bill

However, Wednesday afternoon, news broke that the vote would not take place. Shortly after it came down, the Congressional Black Caucus released a statement opposing the SCORE Act. The caucus has been involved in negotiations with House Republicans about amending the bill, and some of those changes occurred.

“It is a shame that organizations like the NCAA, who last year touted $1.4 billion in revenue – a $91 million increase from the prior year – have for so long been able to benefit from college athletes’ hard work and sacrifice while the athletes themselves are often exploited and mistreated,” the statement read, in part. “To make matters worse, in 2023, Division I schools spent over $3.6 billion on coaches’ salaries – by far the largest spending category in these schools’ athletic finances.

“We cannot lose sight of the human impact here. At the center of this issue are the college athletes, many of whom are Black students and who may not come from sizable financial means. College athletes too often report struggling with injuries, food insecurity, poverty, and homelessness. It is wholly unfair that universities and coaches are lining their pockets while leaving so little, if anything, for the college athletes who make those profits possible.”