NLRB Rules for NU Players | HailToPurple.com

PLAYERS IN DC
Colter: "Congress is an important part
of the chess board"

APRIL 2-- NU players, including former quarterback Kain Colter, visited lawmakers in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to argue in favor of unionizing college football. The players, along with representatives of the National Colleges Players Association and the United Steelworkers Union, are also trying to make sure that the Washington headquarters of the National Labor Relations Board upholds the earlier ruling by its Chicago division. The Chicago office of the NLRB decided that NU players are primarily employees of Northwestern, which paved the way for unionization.

Northwestern will almost certainly appeal the NLRB ruling within the next week.

Current Northwestern players will vote at some point this month on whether to join the Steelworkers Union. Should they do so, it remains to be seen what action the NCAA will take. It is feasible that, since the NCAA is in no way bound to change its own rules due to a ruling by a labor board, the NCAA could declare NU players academically ineligible for the coming season, because of NCAA rules forbidding players from seeking outside agency or representation.

CAPA, Player Reps Head to DC;
NU Requests Review from Nat'l NLRB,
Appeal Likely

MARCH 30-- As the media and fans of college athletics nationwide try to figure out the ramifications of the National Labor Relations Board's decision that NU football players are university employees and are entitled to unionize, reaction spans the spectrum. Nearly everyone seems to support the players' demands for enhanced medical protection and coverage. There is a firestorm of controversy, however, surrounding the legal shift of NU's players from being primarily students to being primarily employees.

Northwestern certainly disagrees with the NLRB's ruling, and has announced that it has asked the NLRB's Washington, D.C., office to review the Chicago office's decision. NU is doing this to pave the way for an appeal.

For the current Northwestern players, the next step might be to take a secret vote on whether to unionize. The timing of this vote is unclear, as is the question of any potential remaining legal hurdles that would need to be managed before the vote.

HailToPurple.com will not provide an analysis of this situation. I have no desire to comment on the union issue. In fact, this might be a great time to step back and reevaluate not just this site, but what it means to be a fan of college sports.

More links (updated March 30):

Northwestern announces its next steps
The National Football Post examines the medical issues pertaining to Kan Colter's movement
Inside Northwestern posted a column from a player's POV, by former NU fencer Dayana Sarkisova
Lake The Posts gives a nice overview of the different opinions and reactions from across the country, and his own commentary on what this all might mean

UNION:
NLRB APPROVES NU PLAYER REQUEST

MARCH 26-- Northwestern, famous for its use of the phrase "student-athlete," today claimed the national stage by involuntarily giving birth to the phrase "employee-athlete." Northwestern's current football players scored an unexpected and landmark victory when the National Labor Relations Board ruled that the players are primarily employees and have a right to unionize.

The ruling will, of course, be appealed, and could eventually end up before the Supreme Court. If the ruling holds, it could possibly and fundamentally change college athletics. Earlier this week former NU president Henry Bienen noted that a union victory might lead to Northwestern dropping out of NCAA Division I sports.

Links:

Sports Illustrated discusses with Michael McCann the implications of the decision
Bienen: NU might leave Division I
ESPN legal analyst Lester Munson give his take
ESPN's Adam Rittenberg: Union push clears big hurdle