We know the ~50% rise in youth sports costs over the last 5 years didn’t come out of nowhere: private equity rolled up sports to squeeze kids and families for every dollar they could. The Let Kids Play Act is simple: it goes right after the vulture investors and their practices pricing families out.
When word first started coming out that the federal government was going after private equity in youth sports, the biggest pushback I received on social media was, “that’s not the role of the federal government.”
So, when given the chance, I went straight to the source and asked the sponsors of the new Let Kids Play Act that specific question:
Why is it the role of the federal government to do this?
#youthsports #sportsparents #travelball #privateequity #congress
For decades, both political parties down in Washington have deindustrialized America, hollowing out mill towns in PA and beyond, wrecking our manufacturing base, and weakening supply chains. It’s time for fair trade where workers and America’s industrial power are not afterthoughts.
This week I introduced the Let Kids Play Act with @repdeluzio to get private equity out of youth sports.
It's simple - kids' sports should be about kids and what's best for them, not jacking up costs to make money for investors.
A lot of the conversation around the Let Kids Play Act has focused on the private equity side of the bill.
But the data privacy part might be the one most parents across the political spectrum should be paying attention to.
Whether you’re left, right, or somewhere in the middle, I’d hope most of us can agree that just because we signed our kid up for a sport doesn’t mean a company should have the right to collect, track, package, and profit off our family’s personal data.
And most parents probably don’t even realize how much information is being collected through youth sports apps, registration platforms, scheduling systems, and performance tools.
Protecting kids should matter more than protecting business models. That feels like a pretty reasonable line for all of us to agree on.
#youthsports #sportsparents #parenting #dataprivacy #raisingkids
Where do we draw the line between the legitimate cost of playing sports and the exploitation of families who just want their kids to participate?
I asked Senator Chris Murphy @senchrismurphy and Congressman Chris DeLuzio@repdeluzio that exact question.
Their answer: the focus has to be on the worst practices, especially the “vulture” behavior where private equity abuses its power and turns youth sports into a profit machine.
It is about asking who is being served when access keeps getting more expensive, families feel trapped, and kids are priced out of opportunity.
Youth sports should build kids, not drain families.
Parents like me know that screens are impacting kids. Just like we do for food, let’s study screentime and make research-based recommendations in America. More on my bipartisan bill with Rep. Houchin here 📲
Donald Trump says America can’t invest in things like childcare because of his Iran War. He’s got billions for war, but nothing for Americans—I say, let’s invest right here at home to make life better.
