Getty Image
- Collegiate athletes are no longer to be considered “student athletes,” but instead, employees.
- The NLRB made the decision that could change college sports forever on Wednesday.
- Click HERE for more NCAA coverage!
The general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board made a HUGE decision in regard to college athletes on Wednesday. A memo issued by general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo says that college players should be considered employees of their schools and afforded protections under the National Labor Relations Act.
Per the memo, college athletes “perform services for institutions in return for compensation and (are) subject to their control.”
As a result, “certain (college athletes) are statutory employees, who have the right to act collectively to improve their terms and conditions of employment.”
While her memo doesn’t immediately change anything, it could drastically change the relationship between college athletes and their schools.
Employees at work.
The NCAA and its schools have long contended that athletes are not employees. Instead, it uses the blanket term “student-athlete” to keep the guise of amateurism.
This memo challenges that notion.
Essentially, any school that attempts to argue that its athletes are not employees will face push back from the NLRB. That sets the stage for a renewal of efforts to organize athletes— much like Northwestern football in 2015.
Now, because of this new belief, athletes at private schools can unionize. They can then seek to set demands for various working conditions, including healthcare or compensation.
The NLRB only has jurisdiction over private schools, of which there are 12 among the 65 programs in the Power Five conferences. However, if the board were to allow a group of athletes to proceed with an unfair labor practice charge against any of the private institutions, it would have a ripple effect felt across the NCAA.
This could be a massive decision. The landscape of college sports have already changed drastically with Name, Image and Likeness, but allowing once-“student athletes” to be considered employees will change everything longterm.