The Campaign for Athletes' Rights

Abstract

Amateur athletes who pursue their sport pri marily for its own sake feel they have, or ought to have, the right to compete wherever they are physically qualified. Yet, as reported by athletes' groups and confirmed by the Presi dent's Commission on Olympic Sports (1975-1977), this free dom has been abridged by practically all major amateur sports organizations such as the NCAA (The National Collegiate Athletic Association) and AAU (Amateur Athletic Union). The President's Commission recommended statutory guarantees of the right to compete in international competition, but the campaign for such a law ran into the lobbying power of the NCAA. A compromise was effected, permitting the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 to pass, thus reorganizing much of American amateur sport. But athletes' rights do not yet enjoy the protec tion in law desired by most athletes.