College football players can unionize, federal agency says...

[riffjim4069]

Source

The end of college football as we know it? Very interesting...

In a ruling that could revolutionize college sports, a federal agency has given football players at Northwestern University the green light to unionize.

Wednesday's landmark ruling by a regional director of National Labor Relations Board means the players are deemed employees under federal law and so can create the nation's first college athletes' union.

Union lawyers argued the Big Ten school's football players are part of a commercial enterprise that generates hefty profits through their labor.

The NCAA, Big Ten Conference and the private school vehemently opposed the union drive. Northwestern argued that college athletes are students and can't be put in the same category as factory workers.

The ruling in Chicago by director Peter Ohr can be appealed to the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C.


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[salsadancer7]

Friend of mine in the media reported this a couple of weeks ago. The opening of pandoras' box.

 

[riffjim4069]

Friend of mine in the media reported this a couple of weeks ago. The opening of pandoras' box.

Speculation I will assume...because the ruling came out this afternoon. Regardless, if this ruling isn't overturned then it will certainly alter the future of college football. Only the big boys (30-40 teams perhaps) will be capable of fielding a Division I (or whatever it's called these days) team, and scholarships/academics be further damned because football is now an organized professional activity. It's as though college football will be going back to the 1930s. Many teams will be forced to drop their football programs and/or downgrade to Division II.

On a bright note, the NCAA crumb-bums will get it jammed-up their arse. Notre Dame, Florida, Michigan, etc. don't need no stinkin' NCAA....they can strike their own deals and keep their own monies. It should be interesting to see how this plays out. Conversely, the NCAA is too powerful and has too many friends. There is no way this ruling isn't overturned up the chain. We shall see.

 

[Jimbo]

So, when a football player gets hurt, does he file Workman's Comp ?
Is he now required to go back and play when the University Doctor (not the Team Dr) says so ... like it is in the real working world ?

Does the player now get the bill and have to pay the percentage we would have to pay ?

 

[cosmo_kramer]

So, when a football player gets hurt, does he file Workman's Comp ?
Is he now required to go back and play when the University Doctor (not the Team Dr) says so ... like it is in the real working world ?

Does the player now get the bill and have to pay the percentage we would have to pay ?

That's one thing that I wasn't aware of, the fact that it's optional for the school to cover the medical bills of a player who's injured. I was under the assumption that if a player was injured as a course of playing or practicing the sport that they would be taken care of. Unfortunately, that's not always the case...

 

[Scherrman]

I can see both sides on this one but it looks like it's just going to be a huge mess. The schools are just going to have to hold back on how much they are marketing their players. It's one thing to just use the team as a whole for marketing purposes but when they single out their star players those players want a cut of it.

If these players decide they want to get paid like any other working person then they better have their scholarships cut and they can pay for them on their own. They can also pay for their insurance, food, room and board. Better make sure you don't get hurt either because there goes some pay as well.

 

[riffjim4069]

I agree with Scherrman...they'll draw a salary and things like tuition and room & board may very well have to be paid out of their own pockets. From the University's perspective, why should they dole-out free tuition and per diem when these players are being paid. My next question is what about academics? To be honest, academics be damned since these guys are now professional athletics who are being paid to play football first and foremost. Likewise, what about eligibility since they are now paid professionals? Does this mean four years of eligibility no longer applies to the college game? There are certainly thousands of former college football players, and former NFL players in their 20s and 30s, who would gladly return to playing college football if the would earn a six-figure salary. It's sure a lot better than washing cars, selling tacos, or doing whatever former football players do after not taking their student-athlete lives very serious. The players could win the battle, yet lose the war since the NCAA and Universities still make the rules regarding eligibility. It could be interesting....let's see what happens.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Everything I've read and heard so far seems to indicate that getting paid was not the objective for pursuing joining a union. From their web site:

CAPA will ultimately allow players to collectively bargain for comprehensive reform such as:

• Guaranteed coverage for sports-related medical expenses for current and former players.
• Minimizing the risk of sports-related traumatic brain injury. Reduce contact in practices like the NFL and Pop Warner have done, place independent concussion experts on the sidelines, and establish uniform return to play protocols.
• Improving graduation rates. Establish an educational trust fund to help former players complete their degree and reward those who graduate on time.
• Consistent with evolving NCAA regulations or future legal mandates, increasing athletic scholarships and allowing players to receive compensation for commercial sponsorships.
• Securing due process rights. Players should not be punished simply because they are accused of a rule violation, and any punishments levied should be consistent across campuses.

http://www.collegeathletespa.org/

 

[riffjim4069]

Everything I've read and heard so far seems to indicate that getting paid was not the objective for pursuing joining a union...

True, but we know just how long that will last before some of the players, and their lawyers, eyes see dollar signs...then it's all a money grab!

 

[Derwin0]

What's next? Students on academic scholarship get to unionize and negotiate their homework load?
How about those on band scholarships? Where does it end?
Do the non-scholarship students get the same union rights?

 

[Jimbo]

Shouldn't this go for All sports ?

Or are they gonna limit it to Football and Basketball ?

 

[Derwin0]

Shouldn't this go for All sports ?

It should, but it won't...

Or are they gonna limit it to Football and Basketball ?

...because those are the only ones that make money.

 

[Jimbo]

It should, but it won't...
...because those are the only ones that make money.

How about the Students, shouldn't they be getting some of it ?
Many are standouts and could be the one that finds cures for medical issues, cure Cancer, multitude of other things, Is the athlete more important than the potential a student may have ?

 

[salsadancer7]

How about the Students, shouldn't they be getting some of it ?
Many are standouts and could be the one that finds cures for medical issues, cure Cancer, multitude of other things, Is the athlete more important than the potential a student may have ?

No. But the student athlete brings in the money to get those TV contracts to pay for alot of things that a normal athlete does not. I have been a proponent for years to have the athletes get some kind of stipen while they are at school.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

How about the Students, shouldn't they be getting some of it ?

Some of what?? Receiving a stipend is not a goal of this union (at least initially....)

 

[Derwin0]

No. But the student athlete brings in the money to get those TV contracts to pay for alot of things that a normal athlete does not. I have been a proponent for years to have the athletes get some kind of stipen while they are at school.

They do get a stipen, it's called room and board (aka food).

At UGA they even give them money in leu of food.

 

[salsadancer7]

They do get a stipen, it's called room and board (aka food).

At UGA they even give them money in leu of food.

Nope. These universities make MILLIONS of these kids. Let's just agree to disagree because until they don't play infront of huge TV contracts and stadiums built where they hold 80,000+ fans...which will never happen. These kids are nothing more than cheap labor to make the colleges, coaches and the NCAA money.

 

[Derwin0]

Nope. These universities make MILLIONS of these kids. Let's just agree to disagree because until they don't play infront of huge TV contracts and stadiums built where they hold 80,000+ fans...which will never happen. These kids are nothing more than cheap labor to make the colleges, coaches and the NCAA money.

Those kids can always go somewhere else if they don't want to play by the rules of college, and make a fast buck.

 

[riffjim4069]

Nope. These universities make MILLIONS of these kids. Let's just agree to disagree because until they don't play infront of huge TV contracts and stadiums built where they hold 80,000+ fans...which will never happen. These kids are nothing more than cheap labor to make the colleges, coaches and the NCAA money.

Let's play devil's advocate....shouldn't the colleges share in a percentage of a student athlete's future earning? Didn't the University spend hundreds of thousands of dollars education these kids, teaching them to speak in public, and how to build their bodies and learn the game of football from some of the best coaches and sports staffs in the nation? All these countless thousands of contact hours (free of charge) help prepare the student athlete to earn a living in as a professional athlete? The other students have to pay for their education while these free-loaders pay nothing. Shouldn't the NCAA be entitled to share in a student athlete's professional earnings when the football player goes on to earn million using the skills taught free-of-charge by the NCAA schools? Perhaps the students should pay for their education, each hour of training, etc. That team meeting with the head coach is going to cost you $150. That on-field practice with the entire coaching staff is going to cost you $250. That workout with the strength coach is going to cost you $100. The massage will run you $80, which the dip in the whirlpool will run you $25. You want to meet with the Head Coach to discuss something...well, your going to pay a share of 2.5 million dollar salary since his time isn't free...$600 an hour? Sure!

 

[TNGTony]

I think you guys are seeing beyond the reason for unionizing. Like in the real world if the conditions were fair to begin with, there would be no need to unionize.

If the NCAA insisted on uniform disciplinary measures and due process across campuses now, there would be no need for a union.
If colleges paid for athlete injuries on the field of play (practice and game time) every time, there would be no need for a union.
If colleges would not allow their coaches to put players at unnecessary risk of injury repeatedly, there would be no need for a union.

A comment in this thread "they can play somewhere else", is incorrect. There is nowhere else at this level.

What this players' union may want in the future is irrelevant. The argument about college players getting paid is much older than these concerns . They are NOT asking for players to be paid. The "Just you wait" argument can be applied to anything and is nothing but FUD.

So the question to all of you who are outraged about the ruling:
Do you think player injuries on the field (play and practice) should be covered by the team both short term and long term?
This is the main reason for this particular union.