12/21/24
January 28, 2014
"Right now the NCAA is like a dictatorship. No one represents us in negotiations.": The National College Players Association filed a petition in Chicago on behalf of football players at Northwestern University, submitting the form at the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board.
Backed by the United Steelworkers union, it also filed union cards signed by an undisclosed number of Northwestern players with the NLRB -- the federal statutory body that recognizes groups that seek collective bargaining rights.
posted by Mookieproof to general at 04:47 PM - 5 comments
I've seen cases in which courts have ruled college athletes are not employees. Also, I lean toward the traditional response in that most athletes receive a full or partial scholarship; in essence, they are being paid to play.
The Title IX angle is interesting given this proposed union only involves football players. How would this affect not only women's sports but the other sports, especially the non-revenue generators?
posted by jjzucal at 09:00 AM on January 29, 2014
Interesting article in the NY Times this week regarding the recent wave of D1 scholarship offers to girls and requests for commitments even when they're still in middle school.
The rostering and recruiting action is currently much more feverish and out of control for collegiate women's programs than for the men's. It will be interesting to see how this whole thing plays out.
I would link to the article but I don't know how to circumvent the NYT paywall. The title is: "Committing to Play for a College, Then Starting 9th Grade"
Seems like the moat has already been bridged and the ladders are being stood up against the NCAA's castle walls. Whatever happens, it will not go according to the NCAA's liking, and it's their own fault for sitting on their exponentially increasing revenue without addressing critical issues.
posted by beaverboard at 09:39 AM on January 29, 2014
I would link to the article but I don't know how to circumvent the NYT paywall
Try this:
Committing to Play for a College, Then Starting 9th Grade
posted by BornIcon at 11:20 AM on January 29, 2014
Lake the Posts (one of the better NU sports blogs) has a comprehensive post detailing the ins and outs of the petition.
posted by ursus_comiter at 11:59 AM on January 29, 2014
I get a sense that this is the "Curt Flood" starting point for college athletics. I'm not sure these guys will win if this gets to a lawsuit, but the opening salvo has been fired and they are pointing the way to BIG changes in the NCAA and collegiate sports in general.
The side effect to all this could be the complete collapse of college sports that don't make a profit for their universities. I'm not sure how this is going to work when Title IX starts getting involved as well.