Ella Brooks has found herself at an unusual crossroads for a Clemson thrower: the discus circle and the halls of Congress.
The rising junior from Clemson’s track and field team has spent this summer doing more than training and competing. She has also been digging into the fight over the future of college athletics, a subject that has pulled her from Clemson’s new athletic recovery center to Capitol Hill.
Brooks said the issue became personal once she got a closer look at the Protect College Sports Act, the bill backed by senators Ted Cruz, Maria Cantwell and Eric Schmitt. The legislation is designed to create national rules for name, image and likeness compensation, athlete eligibility, transfers and revenue sharing, while also giving schools and conferences more legal certainty when enforcing those standards.
“I was really close to the issue, and I had the opportunity through Clemson and through the ACC to meet with some House offices to talk about this legislation,” Brooks told TigerNet. “As I started digging into it a little bit deeper and looking at the actual provisions and what it does, I became really invested.”
That deeper dive came during a summer internship in Washington, D.C., where Brooks saw the shifting legal landscape up close. She watched developments tied to House v. NCAA, along with injunctions that have sparked new twists in Louisiana and ongoing legal battles with the SEC that would allow former NFL players to return to college football.
Brooks believes a federal solution would have prevented the confusion now surrounding the sport.
“Now you've seen the Louisiana case where they're allowing professional players who have already signed contracts with professional sports leagues to come back and play,” Brooks said. “That would not be able to happen if there was a federal answer.
I really hate that we're at the point where Congress needs to get involved, but different states have different priorities and different judges have different opinions. No one's gonna agree on the same thing.”
Her work this summer also extended beyond meetings and observation. In her role on the ACC’s Student Advisory Committee, Brooks wrote an op-ed about what she saw on the Hill and why she believes change is needed.
The piece caught on quickly, leading to more attention and eventually a spot on Faulkner Focus on Fox News. Brooks admitted the leap was bigger than anything she expected.
“I was a little intimidated at first, but after talking to people who are a little bit wiser and a little more successful than I am, they just encouraged me to say yes to everything,” Brooks said. “I feel I've continued to do that with confidence.
Now I've somehow ended up on Fox News, which is crazy to me. I feel like I skipped so many steps.
I feel like national television Fox is not something I expected to be on first, but it is an incredible experience, and it's been incredibly rewarding to see something you're so passionate about actually progress in real time.”
For Brooks, though, the bigger mission is still the same: giving student-athletes a louder voice. She sees college sports as something meaningful and fragile, something that shaped her own life and even helped bring her parents together.
As she keeps pushing for the Protect College Sports Act, she says she’s found the role she wants to play beyond competition.
“Something I have really learned about myself is that I love being an advocate for someone. It's incredibly rewarding,” Brooks said. “I don't know if there's any way I can continue to bring student athlete voices front and center, that would be, I think, what I want my legacy to be is figure out a way to continue to advocate for college athletics in the US and continue to bolster other student athletes and educate them on why it's important, why it matters, and give them the opportunities to speak up, as I have.”
In Other News...
Paul Finebaum Turns Up Pressure On Clemson Before LSU
ESPNs Paul Finebaum has added another layer to the buildup around Clemsons trip to LSU, and it has as much to do with the Tigers quarterback situation as the matchup itself. Finebaum questioned whether Christopher Vizzina can handle the job after his work as a backup, while also pointing to the way other top programs have leaned on transfer quarterbacks in recent title runs.
For Clemson, the concern is obvious: the offense is under a microscope before a high-profile road test, and any uncertainty at quarterback only sharpens it. Finebaums point was less about LSU than about whether Clemson can avoid getting bogged down if Vizzina does not take a step forward, which is exactly the kind of pressure that follows a season-opening spotlight game. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons Week 1 Opponent Is Suddenly Facing A Major Eligibility Fight
Clemson's Week 1 trip to LSU now carries a little more off-field intrigue than anyone expected, with the SEC and LSU locked in a dispute over player eligibility. The issue stems from a judge ruling against SEC sanctions involving players who had previously signed professional contracts, and LSU is trying to add two players who were recently released by NFL teams.
For Clemson, the immediate football task is still the same, but the backdrop has clearly shifted as the conference sorts through a disagreement that could affect the Tigers' opener. The SEC has already discussed drastic responses, including boycotting games against LSU or even expelling the program, making this one of the more unusual preseason storylines attached to a game that was supposed to be defined by what happens on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Heads Into Death Valley With LSU Bragging Rights On The Line
LSU and Clemson are headed to Baton Rouge for another meeting in a series that has mostly belonged to the Tigers from the SEC, with LSU carrying a 4-1 edge all-time. Beyond the matchup itself, the backdrop gives the game a little extra bite: two proud programs, two fan bases that have long treated their stadium nickname as part of the brand, and plenty of reason to keep score beyond the final result.
LSU also enters this one looking different under new head coach Lane Kiffin, who has reshaped the roster with a heavy transfer influx and added quarterback Sam Leavitt among the key newcomers. For Clemson, the trip is about more than a road game. It is another chance to answer an old debate on familiar ground, where the Death Valley label has been a point of pride for both programs and the winner gets a little more bragging rights to carry away. [Read more 🡒]