Last month I wrote about the efforts of Northwestern football players to start a union and have it recognized by the powers that be. Well, a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) thought that was a good idea. He agreed with the players, “It cannot be said that the employer’s scholarship players are ‘primarily students’. ”
He decided that Northwestern football players were on campus to play football, and very different from other students. First of all, players are recruited for their athletic ability, not their academics. Team guidelines include drug testing and a provision that players cannot refuse a friend request from a coach on Facebook. If players do not follow the rules, their scholarships can be revoked.
The ruling applies only to scholarship football players at Northwestern, a private university. But the precedent could extend to all Division I scholarship football players at private universities. (Collective bargaining at public universities is governed by state law.)
Naturally, the NCAA will appeal the decision to the five-member N.L.R.B. in Washington.
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