Key Takeaways
- Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Chris Deluzio introduced federal legislation on May 13, 2026 that would bar private equity firms from owning youth sports teams, leagues, facilities, and events, with Sen. Cory Booker among the co-sponsors.
- The bill would require currently invested firms to divest within two years and would create a federal youth sports fund seeded by penalties from violators.
- Sponsors cite a 46% rise in family youth sports spending over five years, with some hockey families reporting tuition above $5,000 per child per season.
- The legislation targets “vulture practices,” including stay-to-play hotel mandates, exclusive streaming paywalls, and serial rink and club acquisitions.
- State attorneys general and parents would gain authority to sue operators directly, and Michigan’s AG has already opened an inquiry into Black Bear Sports Group.
What the Bill Proposes
The Let Kids Play Act would ban private equity firms from owning or investing in youth sports teams, leagues, facilities, and events. Per the sponsors’ public summaries and USA TODAY’s reporting, the bill would force a two-year divestment window for current PE holdings, entitle affected families to refunds, and direct civil penalties into a federal youth sports fund supporting community-based and municipal programs.
Enforcement would run through both a private right of action for parents and concurrent authority for state attorneys general. Penalties scale with revenue, with enhanced fines for repeat or willful violations.
Co-sponsors include members of the House Monopoly Busters Caucus, which Deluzio co-chairs. Final bill text was not yet posted to Congress.gov at the time of this filing.
The Reporting and Hearings Behind the Bill
The legislation follows USA TODAY investigations by Kenny Jacoby into Black Bear Sports Group’s consolidation of 47 ice rinks across 11 states, and the Dallas Stars’ ownership or operation of eight of 11 ice rinks in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. USA TODAY documented per-team price hikes for 142 of 209 Black Bear in-house teams between 2025 seasons, with the largest increases concentrated on athletes ages 9 to 12.
Two congressional hearings preceded the bill. On December 16, 2025, the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing on the crisis in American youth sports. On April 7, 2026, Deluzio convened a “Let Kids Play” field hearing at Green Tree SportsPlex in western Pennsylvania.
Katherine Van Dyck, Senior Legal Fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project, testified at both hearings and authored the policy framework cited by the sponsors. At the April hearing, Van Dyck said private equity “has turned youth sports from a cherished past time into a profit extraction machine.”
Sponsor and Stakeholder Quotes
Murphy, whose son plays in a Black Bear-run league, said at the May 13 press conference: “Black Bear ownership’s roots are in private equity. They see my son’s hockey experience as a chance to make a massive amount of money. They are using youth sports to get rich.”
Deluzio framed the bill at the April field hearing: “Kids are getting priced out. Today, a family’s bank account too often decides whether that kid gets that shot, turning youth sports into a luxury item.”
Black Bear spokesperson Evan Nierman, responding to the bill announcement, said: “We look forward to engaging with lawmakers and sharing all the ways we are growing youth hockey at four times the national rate, providing free and low-cost programs and letting more kids play by saving and revitalizing ice rinks.”
Tom Farrey, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society program, said on LinkedIn that the bill addresses real practices that “merit scrutiny,” including stay-to-play mandates and data collection on minor athletes, but argued the legislation has “fundamental flaws.” Farrey noted that many problematic practices predated PE entry and called instead for ecosystem-wide guardrails, mandatory provider registration with the U.S. Center for SafeSport, and a Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports framework.
What It Means for the Industry
The bill arrives as PE-backed platforms occupy a growing share of the youth sports operating landscape. Cited transactions include KKR’s $4.75 billion acquisition of Varsity Brands, BPEA EQT’s $1.25 billion purchase of IMG Academy, Juggernaut Capital’s backing of 3STEP Sports (1,800-plus club teams per company figures), and Apollo co-founder Josh Harris and David Blitzer’s Unrivaled Sports, which the company reports serves 635,000-plus athletes across 15 brands.
Republican control of both chambers and the White House makes near-term passage unlikely in the bill’s current form. The introduction, paired with the Michigan AG investigation, the December House hearing, and active calls for Texas AG action, signals that operator pricing, ownership disclosure, and tournament structure will face continued scrutiny across federal and state channels.
Sources:
- “Bill would ban private equity ‘vulture investors’ from youth sports”, Kenny Jacoby and Stephen Borelli, USA TODAY, May 13, 2026
- “Lord of the Rinks: Meet the hockey CEO cashing in on your kid’s team”, Kenny Jacoby, USA TODAY (via Yahoo Finance), May 2026
- “Deluzio tosses flag on private equity’s role in youth sports”, 90.5 WESA, April 8, 2026
- “Deluzio Public Hearing on the Rising Cost of Youth Sports: ‘Kids are Getting Priced Out'”, Office of Rep. Chris Deluzio, April 7, 2026
- “Economic Liberties Senior Fellow Katherine Van Dyck to Testify Before US House Committee”, American Economic Liberties Project / Common Dreams, December 2025
- “Black Bear Sports Group under investigation by Attorney General’s office”, WOOD-TV, 2026
- Tom Farrey, LinkedIn post on the Let Kids Play Act, May 13, 2026
- [“Let Kids Play Act” press conference livestream, YouTube, May 13, 2026
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