ICYMI: What Athletes, Parents, and Coaches Are Reading and Hearing About Deluzio’s New Bill to Ban Private Equity from Youth Sports

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced the Let Kids Play Act. Congressman Deluzio took questions from local and national reporters at the press conference announcing the bill and then appeared on podcasts with sports parents and former coaches who have witnessed first-hand the 46% spike in youth sports costs over the last five years. 

“We are introducing the Let Kids Play Act to ban private equity from youth sports, and keep this part of the American Dream alive for families,” said Congressman Deluzio at the press conference on Wednesday, May 13.

What athletes, parents, and coaches are reading about the Let Kids Play Act:

• USA Today: Bill would ban private equity 'vulture investors' from youth sports. 
• USA Today: Bill seeks to end 'vulture practices' in kids sports: What it means 
• Axios: Democrats push to ban private equity from youth sports 
• Sports Business Journal: Federal bill introduced to ban private equity investment in youth sports 
• Front Office Sports: Lawmakers Want Private Equity Out of Youth Sports 
• Youth Sports Business Report: Let Kids Play Act Targets Private Equity Ownership of Youth Sports Teams, Leagues, and Facilities 
• Politics PA: Deluzio Introduces “Let Kids Play Act” To Drive Private Equity From Youth Sports 
• The Pennsylvania Independent: Rep. Chris Deluzio targets rising youth sports costs in Let Kids Play Act 
• Beaver County Radio: Chris Deluzio, Chris Murphy Introduce Bill to Kick Private Equity Out of Kids' Sports and Stop the Ripoffs 

Video and Podcast coverage of the Let Kids Play Act: 

• Wall Street Journal: The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted in a multimedia profile how private equity-backed Black Bear Sports Group has capitalized on the youth sports industry and targeted hockey rinks across the country over the last decade.  
• More Perfect Union: Pennsylvania Congressman Chris Deluzio was featured in a viral video by More Perfect Union, “How Private Equity Destroyed Youth Sports,” that is all about the cost of youth sports and how private equity has made it a total ripoff for families and parents. The video featured the Western PA field hearing hosted by the Congressman as a preview for the Let Kids Play Act. 
• Healthy Sports Parents: Congressman Deluzio also appeared with co-sponsor U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) on the Healthy Sports Parents podcast hosted by sports parent Jonathan Carone—with an audience of more than 130,000 listeners across platforms. The Congressman discussed the need for Congress to step in and take action for the families reeling from these high costs, and how youth sports companies' are collecting data and invading kids’ privacy. 
• Positive Play Project: Congressman Deluzio and Senator Murphy appeared together with content creator and founder of the Positive Play Project, Morgan Schill, after the press conference to discuss their bill’s goals directly with a sports mom, coach, and former college athlete—from the line between legitimate sports costs and exploitation, to how childhood development became a business model. Schill’s clips with Deluzio and Murphy have earned more than 200,000 views on Instagram alone.  
• Raising Athletes: Congressman Deluzio and Senator Murphy joined the Raising Athletes podcast, hosted by best-selling author, former Nike executive, and Division I coach, Kirsten Jones—and discussed how corporate investors and private equity firms have transformed youth sports into a billion-dollar business at the expense of everyone on the field and watching in the bleachers. 
• The Colin Dunlap Show: Congressman Deluzio later appeared on The Colin Dunlap Show on local KDKA Radio and connected the need for legislation to how private equity-backed Black Bear Sports Group forced the oldest youth hockey program in Western PA, the Pittsburgh Vipers, to fold in February 2024—in Congressman Deluzio’s district.

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