ESPN has booked NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson on Tuesday’s 6pm ET “SportsCenter” broadcast to “present the case for opposing” the Protect College Sports Act. The booking of Johnson follows ESPN facing backlash over having U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on “College GameDay” on Saturday for 10 minutes to speak in favor of the bill. The evening midweek audience of Tuesday’s “SportsCenter” is “certainly going to be smaller than the next edition of Gameday,” but ESPN said that it “preferred getting the opposing viewpoint onscreen earlier in case the Senate votes on the bill before Saturday” (PUCK, 9/14).

Cruz, the Senate Commerce chair and ranking member U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), on Monday said that their chamber “was ‘on the cusp’ of passing” the PCSA, but the measure’s success is “still unclear.” Cruz, speaking alongside Cantwell on Monday, said, “We’re on the one-yard line.” The duo, who co-authored the bill, wants to see an “initial floor vote as soon as this week, but acknowledged it could get punted to next week.” The legislation could be the “most significant measure the chamber passes before the midterms,” though it faces opposition despite Cruz and Cantwell’s latest negotiations to “win bipartisan support.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) was “less confident Monday about the future of the bill.” He said they “don’t know” if they have 60 votes in support of the bill (POLITICO, 9/14).

YAHOO SPORTS’ Ross Dellenger, citing sources, reported that a revised version of the PCSA, which is “set to be released soon, is not expected to include changes to the anti-expansion provision, though ‘conversation are on-going’ on that subject.” The current anti-expansion provision caps power league membership at 19 schools and requires power league schools wanting to move to another power conference to “operate as an independent for five years.” Several ACC schools over the past week “submitted proposals to lawmakers suggesting modifications to the provision,” with options including expanding the cap to 24 teams, sunsetting the provision after a number of years or “reducing the 5-year probationary period.” Sources said that a revised bill is “expected to include modifications that address the transgender-state law issue raised by some Republicans as well as a revision to permit a certain level of pending athlete litigation to continue” (X, 9/14).