Sports Fans Coalition Honors the 2024 Class of Most Valuable Policymakers
On September 19th, SFC celebrated its 15th Anniversary and named its 2024 Most Valuable Policymakers:
US Representative Jan Schakowsky
US Representative Gus Bilirakis
Virginia Senator Louise Lucas
Colorado Representative William Lindstedt.
The MVP Championship ring is given to policymakers who have demonstrated exemplary leadership and courage by defending everyday sports fans against monopolists and other large corporate interests.
Representative Jan Schakowsky represents Illinois' 9th Congressional District. She serves in the House Democratic Leadership as a Chief Deputy Whip. She is a member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, House Budget Committee, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where she serves as the Ranking Member on the Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee. Throughout her time in Congress, Schakowsky has taken on big corporations and has won major legislative victories on behalf of consumers – including her and Representative Bilirakis’ TICKET Act which passed the House 388-24 this year! A true Chicagoan, Schakowsky is proud to represent the best sports city in all the country, cheering on the home teams whenever she gets the chance!
“I am a big believer in grassroots organizing and Grassroots winning!” said Representative Schakowsky when accepting her award. She continued to talk about all the good work she and Bilirakis have put into protecting sports fans when purchasing tickets online, “[Bilirakis] and I have always been on the same team when it comes to fairness for consumers.” In closing, Schakowsky gave a clear call to action, “I turn to activists, to say, ‘get it done in the Senate!’”
Representative Gus Bilirakis represents Florida's 12th Congressional District. He serves as a Senior Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. He is the Chairman of the Innovation, Data and Commerce Subcommittee. With 75 bills he authored signed into law since 2015, Congressman Bilirakis was recently designated as the Most Effective Republican Lawmaker in the State of Florida by the Center for Effective Lawmaking at Vanderbilt University. When he’s not shepherding legislation to the President’s desk you can find him cheering for the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Florida Gators. Working in a bipartisan manner with Representative Schakowsky, he worked with consumer advocates, artists, venues, and ticketing companies to write the TICKET Act, which to date is the most comprehensive piece of ticketing legislation to be voted out of either chamber in Congress in nearly 10 years.
“Sports brings us together as families and friends as well…This organization that David founded is incredible—I mean, it’s so exciting. We need something like this; we need someone to pick up for the fans,” said Bilirakis. He continued to describe the work on the TICKET Act as “a fairness issue.” Bilirakis continued, “You can’t afford to go to a baseball game anymore… it’s so expensive!” He rallied the fans in the room to continue pushing the Senate to pass the TICKET Act.
Virginia Senator Lucas represents Portsmouth, VA. She began a federal government career in 1967, aged 23, as an apprentice shipfitter at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY), becoming the first female shipfitter there in July 1971. She was also the first African American woman to serve on Portsmouth City Council. She now serves as Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. This year, she delivered the knock-out punch to Governor Youngkin’s plan to spend billions of tax dollars to bring the Wizards and Capitals to Alexandria. She coined “Half-baked Glenn-dome,” which became a rallying cry for Virginians across the Commonwealth who opposed this misuse of public funds. Because of her steadfast leadership, Monumental Sports was forced to abandon the plan and remain in DC. Accepting the award on her behalf was former Virginia Delegate and 2021 Democratic Nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, Hala Ayala.
“Senator Lucas’ recent victory against the powerful billionaires on behalf of the people of the commonwealth was a triumph,” said Ayala. “I think this victory sends a very clear message, that even in the face of formidable opponents – Glenndome –anyone, regardless of zip code, age, sex, race, who worship, who you love, can have their voice heard and be a powerful example for us all.”
Colorado Representative William Lindstedt was one of SFC's biggest champions for the last two years in Colorado. In 2023, he, nearly single-handedly, took a Ticketmaster-sponsored bill and amended it to add two vital consumer protections – holdback disclosures and BOTS reporting. When Ticketmaster stripped those amendments in the conference committee, he helped us convince Governor Polis to veto the bill. This year, he led negotiations with consumer advocates, ticketing platforms, and venues to create HB 24-1378, which became the most comprehensive consumer protection ticketing bill to pass this year and the only state-level ticketing bill to receive no opposition at any stage of the process. We honored him in Denver in June, and he received his ring then.
"Colorado is leading the way in protecting consumers from corporate monopolies. Everyone should be able to see their favorite musician or sports team at transparent prices and be guaranteed a refund if a performance is canceled. Thanks to the Sports Fans Coalition for having Colorado consumers' backs during the legislative session. We made a real difference this year!" said Lindstedt.