Shaun Alexander, the former University of Alabama star running back and the NFL’s 2005 MVP, spoke out this week in support of a bill to establish a parental rights amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“I am amazed at how much authority the courts have over parents’ rights today,” said Alexander, who is now vice president of ParentalRights.org, an organization that advocates for children by protecting the legal rights of their parents. “The Parental Rights Amendment will protect the greatest team ever assembled—the family.”

The bill was introduced in the House by U.S. Representative Randy Hultgren (R-IL) and in the upper chamber by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. It has a combined 20 co-sponsors, but none are from Alabama’s congressional delegation.

“The freedom for parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children is an American tradition once established beyond debate,” Hultgren said. “Yet every day, families are broken apart by state actors who presume they are able to make a better decision for a child than a parent can. With recent state laws and court decisions threatening this American value, it is time parental rights are enshrined as fundamental rights and therefore protected under the Constitution.”

The Amendment, which would provide that the “liberty of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children is a fundamental right,” requires a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress to go to the states for ratification. This means bipartisan support will be necessary for its passage.