- Athletes were offered between $400 and $2,400 to post supportive videos.
A Montana college athlete revealed that Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) was working to pay athletes in the state to publicly endorse him.
Tester is in a tough re-election race in a deeply red state where Republicans believe they can pick up a seat in November.
And Lily Meskers, a third-year journalism student and Division 1 track and field athlete, says Testers and his sponsors sought to pay student athletes at the University of Montana at Missoula to make videos endorsing him.
Montana Together, a group supporting Tester’s re-election, was willing to pay between $400 and $2,400 for “unscripted endorsement videos on Instagram Reels.” According to Meskers’ revelations on Montana Talks.
“The agreement offered all college athletes the opportunity to participate and earn a lot of money,” he said.
Lily Meskers, a track athlete at the University of Montana, Missoula, revealed that Senator Jon Tester wants to pay college athletes to support him on Instagram
He also said the group encouraged athletes to “inform their audiences about Senator Tester’s record in office and encourage him to maintain his support for these vital policies.”
Meskers says he doesn’t support Tester because he supports allowing men to compete in women’s sports.
But Meskers says she and other female college athletes were discouraged by the request because Tester supports allowing biological males who transitioned to female to compete in women’s sports at colleges.
In 2023, Tester voted against the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act, which sought to amend Title IX to ensure that only biological women could compete in women’s sports.
It comes amid an intense culture war over transgender people in competitive sports.
Advocates say those born male who transition should be allowed to compete in sports against those born female, despite Republicans’ claim that such individuals have a biological physical advantage in most sports.
Cook Political Report rates Tester’s race as a “tie,” and former President Donald Trump won Montana by more than 16 points in 2020.
To keep his seat, Tester will have to defeat Republican Tim Sheehy, 37, a businessman and former Navy SEAL.
Meskers says the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) agreement for Tester was sent to University of Montana athletes by its Athletic Director Kent Haslam.
Meskers, a junior journalism major and Division 1 track and field athlete, says Testers and his sponsors were seeking to pay student athletes at the University of Montana at Missoula to make videos endorsing him.
Meskers says she and other female college athletes were discouraged by the request because Tester supports allowing biological males who transitioned to women to compete in women’s sports at colleges.
A group backing the re-election of Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester has offered college athletes thousands of dollars to support him on social media amid a tight race to keep his seat in the deeply Republican state.
Haslam sent a message to Meskers when she pressed him to explain why he received the opportunity.
“At the end of July I received an email from Mateo from Opendorse with a NIL opportunity for student athletes. Opendorse is one of the few companies working in the college athlete NIL space and connecting athletes with NIL opportunities,” he explained.
“Mateo said that an organization called Montana Together was using Opendorse to find athletes who were interested in spreading the word about Senator Jon Tester and causes they (the athletes) were interested in,” Haslam continued.
‘The athletic department sent the opportunity to all athletes in case any were interested. Athletes could then contact Mateo for more information.
Republican Senate candidate and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy (pictured) is running for Tester’s seat in an attempt to flip the narrow majority in the upper chamber to red in November.