Florida Senate Passes Teddy Bridgewater Act To Help High School Athletes

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The Florida Senate has passed a bill to help high school athletes. Recently the Teddy Bridgewater ACT also known as CS/CS/SB 178 was passed for K-12 grade head coaches to use $15,000 in personal funds per year to support student-athlete welfare.

The bill was passed by a 38-0 vote. And it requires, "the Florida High School Athletic Association to adopt bylaws authorizing a head coach to support the welfare of a student by using personal funds to provide certain effects to the student; requiring the head coach to report such use of personal funds to the association; providing that such use of personal funds is presumed not to be an impermissible benefit, etc.”

Bridgewater, a former NFL player and Miami Northwestern Alum who eventually went on to become the school’s head football inspired the bill when other coaches complained that he was spending his own money to help his players. Bridgewater did admit to covering food, and transportation costs for his players. The bill was presented to the Senate by Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens.