Louisiana lawmakers are moving quickly to wall off details of how public universities share revenue with college athletes, even as a lawsuit tries to pry those same numbers into the open. The clash has set up a high-stakes fight over who gets to see what athletes at schools like LSU are being paid.
What the bill would do
House Bill 608, filed by Rep. Tehmi Chassion, would put documents tied to intercollegiate revenue-sharing negotiations under lock and key, treating them as confidential and outside the state’s Public Records Law, according to the bill text posted by the Louisiana Legislature. The proposal would also shield negotiation records and agreements with specific athletes. Lawmakers added committee amendments on Wednesday that clarified a key point: the dollar amounts and percentages allocated to individual athletes and sports would not be public, as reported by NOLA.
Journalists sue to force disclosure
A trio of reporters, Piper Hutchinson of the Louisiana Illuminator, Todd Horne of Tiger Rag and WAFB investigative reporter Chris Nakamoto, filed suit in mid March after LSU denied a records request for how it is spending revenue-sharing dollars, according to the Louisiana Illuminator. “The expenditure of public funds is what government transparency laws are all, at their bedrock, fundamentally about,” attorney Scott Sternberg told Tiger Rag.
Lawmakers and LSU defend confidentiality
Rep. Chassion told colleagues the carveout is about safety and privacy for student athletes, arguing she would not want details of her own child’s side earnings available in a public ledger. LSU, which said it had not yet been served with the lawsuit, maintains that some of the requested information is protected by federal privacy rules and other existing exemptions, according to NOLA.
Why transparency advocates object
Reporters and transparency advocates backing the lawsuit say the principle at stake is straightforward: when public universities spend public dollars, the public should get a clear look at the books. Sternberg and the news organizations argue that payments made from public budgets are routinely subject to disclosure and that revenue-sharing payouts to athletes should be treated the same way, according to Tiger Rag.
Legal fight could set statewide precedent
The journalists’ lawsuit was filed in the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, where a ruling could determine whether every public university in Louisiana must reveal how it allocates its revenue-sharing money. Plaintiffs say the case is about basic clarity for taxpayers and for lawmakers as the new revenue-sharing era unfolds, Louisiana Radio Network reported.
What’s next
HB 608 still faces committee votes and full House and Senate approval before it can become law, even as the court case moves through filings and scheduling in Baton Rouge. If the legislature acts first, it could shield universities from disclosure requirements even if a judge decides the records belong to the public; if the court rules first, lawmakers may come under pressure to revisit the statute, according to the bill text posted by the Louisiana Legislature.
