Left-wing group reportedly courting student-athletes with NIL deals to back Democrat senator
A political group is using college athletes to back the re-election campaign of a Democrat U.S. senator in Montana.
Montana Together, a seemingly unknown political activist group, supports Tester but the senator has reportedly denied knowledge of both the organization and the NIL deals they offered.
A political group is using college athletes to back the re-election campaign of a Democrat U.S. senator in Montana.
On Aug. 27, University of Montana student-athlete Lily Meskers wrote that a group called Montana Together had been offering NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals to student-athletes to endorse Senator Jon Tester campaign against Republican Tim Sheehy.
According to Meskers, offers ranging from $400 and $2,400 in exchange for both scripted and unscripted Instagram videos voicing support for Tester were offered to college athletes the group.
Montana Together, a seemingly unknown political activist group, supports Tester but the senator has reportedly denied knowledge of both the organization and the NIL deals they offered.
The emails sent to student-athletes reportedly framed the deals as a way for them to support the causes they “care about,” and mentioned Tester’s support for leftist causes like LGBT ideology and abortion.
Meskers has especially taken issue with Tester’s vote against the “Protection of Women and Girls Sport Act,” which she says “worked to amend Title IX to ensure that only biological women - and not men - could compete in women’s sports.”
“This is why everyone hates Washington,” Alabama Tommy Tuberville wrote to X on Aug. 29. “[Jon Tester] voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, and then his people turned around and emailed the female athletes in Montana offering them money for their support. These people are terrible.”
[RELATED: Over 20 states sue Biden Admin for ‘destroying women’s sports’ with Title IX changes]
“Bravo to the female athletes who are refusing to let Jon Tester and his dark money allies buy their endorsement after Tester voted to let men play in women’s sports,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Spokeswoman Maggie Abboud commented in response.
Last year, Tester had been criticized by both CNN and NBC for failing to follow through on a 2006 campaign pledge to “end secret meetings with lobbyists.”
The University of Montana has apparently defended its involvement in forwarding political NIL offers to students. According to Meskers, Athletics Director Kent Haslam wrote, “When athletics gets these type of general NIL requests, it is our practice to forward those out to all student-athletes, unless the requestor is looking for a specific athlete or team.”
Campus Reform has reached out to all relevant parties for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
