By Jimmy Golen
AP Sports Writer
College football players and some other athletes in revenue-producing sports are employees of their schools, the National Labor Relations Board's top lawyer said in a memo Wednesday that would allow players at private universities to unionize and otherwise negotiate over their working conditions.
NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo also threatened action against schools, conferences and the NCAA if they continue to use the term "student-athlete," saying that it was created to obscure the employment relationship with college athletes and discourage them from pursuing their rights.
"The freedom to engage in far-reaching and lucrative business enterprises makes players at academic institutions much more similar to professional athletes who are employed by a team to play a sport, while simultaneously pursuing business ventures to capitalize on their fame and increase their income," the memo said.
Neither the NCAA nor representatives for the five largest athletic conferences immediately responded to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
The nine-page NLRB memo revisited a case involving Northwestern football players who were thwarted from forming a union when the board in 2015 said that taking their side "would not promote stability in labor relations."
Abruzzo's memo noted that much has changed since the then, including a unanimous Supreme Court decision this year that lifted restrictions on some forms of compensation for college athletes.
Abruzzo also noted that players across the country had engaged in collective action following the killing of George Floyd — actions that "directly concerns terms and conditions of employment, and is protected concerted activity."
–––
AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo contributed to this report.
- Posted September 30, 2021
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
NLRB lawyer says college football players are employees
headlines Oakland County
- Annual Dinner & Meeting
- FORCE Team arrests six in prolific auto theft ring
- Michigan allocates $12 million to support community-based organizations in advancing environmental and climate justice
- Oakland County and SMART launch pilot program providing free transit for veterans and dependents
- Supreme Court sides with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
headlines National
- More lawyers—and clients—want to learn about sustainable development practices
- Top artificial intelligence insurance tips for lawyers
- Lawyer charged with illegally transmitting Michigan data after 2020 election
- Viral video shows former Rikers Island inmate as she learns she passed bar exam on first try
- How Sullivan & Cromwell is scrutinizing potential new hires after campus protests
- No separate hearing required when police seize cars loaned to drivers accused of drug crimes, SCOTUS rules