Republicans in Washington usually want to empower workers and businesses to innovate and thrive. But they are pushing a bill that could create a massive new union that would crush the hopes and dreams of thousands of young athletes around the country.

The bill is the so-called Protect College Sports Act, which claims to “stabilize college sports,” chiefly by bringing order to the chaotic name, image, and likeness landscape. That sounds fine on the surface, but dig a single layer deeper, and it does anything but protect the institution we love.