First step toward college athletes unionizing was taken today...

[NAHSTE]

The National Labor Review Board ruled in favor of the College Athletes Players Association and deemed them employees, not student-athletes. Could be a ground breaking shift in "non-profit" "amateur" athletics in America.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I think we could see the end of scholarships if that becomes the case. Then you have the issue of whether or not the NFL teams can draft out of high school. It's a very slippery slope, and while I agree with the point that student-athletes should receive some sort of payment or stipend, if they are getting a free education I don't think they are employees.

 

[Pitty]

Sports are an extracurricular, these kids are taking a valuable degree spot from a qualified applicant and getting free room, board, tuition, etc. Being paid for a contribution to the University is a joke, simply because these kids don't value an education.

Funny thing is, its mostly the kids who don't go the league who are complaining, because they can't find a job with their unfinished degree or communications major. Maybe you should use the FREE opportunity given to you rather than complaining about revenue generation for the university.

I don't see the mechanical and software engineers who attract millions upon millions in research donations looking for a portion of that money. Its a give and take, use your opportunity. <1% of college athletes will turn pro, maybe someone should tell these kids that before they realize they're a junior and have been coasting through school.

 

[NAHSTE]

Sports are an extracurricular,

Nah, it's more or less a full time job at real big time athletic departments. Shit, even at the lower levels the time commitment is staggering.

Being paid for a contribution to the University is a joke

Yeah, no such thing as work-study programs.

simply because these kids don't value an education.

Holy blanket statement, Batman! I'm sure none of the athletes involved in this suit, kids who chose to attend Northwestern, value education at all.

Funny thing is, its mostly the kids who don't go the league who are complaining, because they can't find a job with their unfinished degree or communications major. Maybe you should use the FREE opportunity given to you rather than complaining about revenue generation for the university.

They are too busy practicing, training, going to meetings, #etc. And thanks to the APR, schools are herding more and more athletes into the same nothing curricula just to keep them eligible. The "education" they are receiving is not really much of one at all. And that's an institutional problem, not an individual one. The system is broken.

I don't see the mechanical and software engineers who attract millions upon millions in research donations looking for a portion of that money.

Directly from the university? Maybe not. But they are also not prohibited from seeking compensation from a third party by a larger governing body. NCAA tells these kids they can't profit off their own talents, while at the same time keeping all the money in-house. Coaching salaries, TV revenue, and NCAA executive salaries keep sykrocketing. Mark Emmert makes $2MM annually, yet Johnny Manziel can't even sell his autograph for $50 a pop. AJ Green can't sell his own property on ebay for $100 without having his eligibility revoked.

 

[Pitty]

Nah, it's more or less a full time job at real big time athletic departments. Shit, even at the lower levels the time commitment is staggering.

Well if they care about the education, stop playing sports. Chances are the kids from NW aren't making the NFL. Take out a loan. Also, I guarantee NW athletics operates at a loss every year in Fball and Bball.

Yeah, no such thing as work-study programs.

Ok, pay them like other students, 7.25 an hour.

Holy blanket statement, Batman! I'm sure none of the athletes involved in this suit, kids who chose to attend Northwestern, value education at all.

Again, stop playing, focus on your education, take out a loan. Or transfer if you can't handle the academics.

They are too busy practicing, training, going to meetings, #etc. And thanks to the APR, schools are herding more and more athletes into the same nothing curricula just to keep them eligible. The "education" they are receiving is not really much of one at all. And that's an institutional problem, not an individual one. The system is broken.

That's a combination of the institution and the kids. It results from kids accepting a scholarship to USC and thinking they can handle the academics in a normal track. APR scores were so low because the academic qualities of most athletes are undeveloped and they likely are working at a CC level (for high tier athletes) due to their focus on training in high school and not on the books.

Directly from the university? Maybe not. But they are also not prohibited from seeking compensation from a third party by a larger governing body. NCAA tells these kids they can't profit off their own talents, while at the same time keeping all the money in-house. Coaching salaries, TV revenue, and NCAA executive salaries keep sykrocketing. Mark Emmert makes $2MM annually, yet Johnny Manziel can't even sell his autograph for $50 a pop. AJ Green can't sell his own property on ebay for $100 without having his eligibility revoked.

Yeah those kids can work on the side to make pennies, then they're in the same situation as the athletes, not able to keep up with their studies.

 

[NAHSTE]

Ok, pay them like other students, 7.25 an hour.

Been advocating this for a while but I don't think every school could afford this.

Yeah those kids can work on the side to make pennies, then they're in the same situation as the athletes, not able to keep up with their studies.

If the kid is really some hot shot engineer or whatever else, he can develop a patent, start a company, and make tons of money if he has the #goods. Johnny Manziel can't even trademark his nickname according to the NCAA.

I think at the very least the most famous among collegiate athletes should be able to seek their own endorsements and profit off of their likeness.

 

[Glenbino]

Just heard on the radio that the Ohio St. AD got an $18,000 bonus for a wrestler winning the national title..

Kind of throws a wrench into the whole "no money to pay people outside of football or basketball" song and dance. Give that 18k to a kid who actually put his body on the line, and who that money would be a much bigger deal for.

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[Mesa]

I did a speech about college athletes should be paid in my speech class last semester. My idea was pay each football athlete $3,000 over a 6 month period. $500 per month paid out as $125 weekly during the football season. January-July they can go get a job.

 

[NAHSTE]

Here is the decision if anybody wants to read:

http://www.espn.go.com/pdf/2014/0326/espn_uniondecision.PDF

 

[Sharkweather]

Northwestern president already talking about the possibility of dropping football if this decision holds up.

 

[Glenbino]

Northwestern president already talking about the possibility of dropping football if this decision holds up.

Fear mongering. If anything it will lead to sports that don't generate revenue being cut. Problem is, cutting a squash team or two won't lead to the kind of pushback these guys need to stop the momentum.

ADs and University Presidents are scared and grasping at whatever straws they can to turn public opinion back in their favor.

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[NAHSTE]

From the ruling:

In contrast, in the instant case it cannot be said the Employer's scholarship players are "primarily students." The players spend 50 to 60 hours per week on their football duties during a one-month training camp prior to the start of the academic year and an additional 40 to 50 hours per week on those duties during the three or four month football season. Not only is this more hours than many undisputed full-time employees work at their jobs, it is also many more hours than the players spend on their studies.

#factsonly
#allfactuals

 

[Glenbino]

From the ruling:



#factsonly
#allfactuals

But.... But.... Quasi Free education! Room and board!

Glad this idiocy is coming to an end.

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[TeflonDonny]

Well if they care about the education, stop playing sports. Chances are the kids from NW aren't making the NFL. Take out a loan. Also, I guarantee NW athletics operates at a loss every year in Fball and Bball.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/arti...aring-northwestern-football-players-exploited

An attorney for the College Athletes Players Association used Mr. Berri to show that college football and basketball “have splintered off and become auxiliary business centers” for schools.

But the first hour of Mr. Berri's testimony was marked by a series of objections by NU's counsel, asserting the sports economist had no direct knowledge of the business of Northwestern's football program.


Hearing officer Joyce Hofstra eventually decided to allow Mr. Berri's testimony, during which he analyzed college sports revenue data that Northwestern reports every year to the U.S. Department of Education under the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act.


That data listed Northwestern's revenue from football at $235 million between 2003 and 2012, while expenses during that period were $159 million.


Mr. Berri suggested that that profit would be much smaller if NU were required to pay its players.

$7 Million a year on average profit just for Football.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

A very slippery slope here.

Two problems:

-College athletes are already paid...with an education that ranges in price value. By unionizing athletes collectively, it deems the education they receive to be equal...which it is not.

-The percentage of college athletes that are being withheld from a monetary figure is minuscule annually. The idea of collectively paying college athletes is pretty fuckin communist when only the smallest percent of athletes being worthy of receiving a monetary figure outside of allotted educational payment.

Now...do I think college athletes should be paid? Yup. Should they all get paid? Nope.

Allow those that can make money off of their appearance or whatever be able to do so...but paying the average joe college athlete, even a stipend as it relates to work-study is ridiculous to me.

The easiest solution is to stop restricting the student athlete from making a wage...allow them to work...allow them to make money by using their image or their status without it risking their eligibility. Stop putting the onus on the college to fork over the bill to pay the kids. They are already fronting a pretty hefty bill in regards to free education, room, board, food, tutoring and other educational benefits. If the kid wants to get paid...let'em get paid, but don't force the school to do it...if they can get paid for X, Y, or Z, let'em. If they can't...their education, room, board etc. is compensation enough. If by chance they don't think so...well, they should have gotten better grades or should have made a better academic decision.

This entire story and the concept of paying college athletes has lost sight of what the goal should be. Everyone wants a piece of the pie...any governing body or institution should be fighting tooth and nail to be out in front of this shit, but the NCAA and institutions are busy trying to bust schools from doing the most mundane of "offenses" and jockeying around for a bigger slice of the pie by realigning conferences. Meanwhile, you have numerous lawsuits going on that are trying to get a piece of their pie.

Meanwhile, I don't think Unionizing the entire student-athlete "workforce" is going to work out for student-athletes. Student-athletes don't quite understand that they aren't the commodity they think they are. It doesn't matter if Johnny Maziel, Tim Tebow, or Robert Griffin III is suiting up on Satudays. What matters is the jersey, not the name on the back. If Kain Colter or whatever union player doesn't feel as though his compensation isn't fair...let'em strike...there are more than enough potential scabs to make up for the loss of any player.

 

[NAHSTE]

A very slippery slope here.

Two problems:

-College athletes are already paid...with an education that ranges in price value. By unionizing athletes collectively, it deems the education they receive to be equal...which it is not.

-The percentage of college athletes that are being withheld from a monetary figure is minuscule annually. The idea of collectively paying college athletes is pretty fuckin communist when only the smallest percent of athletes being worthy of receiving a monetary figure outside of allotted educational payment.

Now...do I think college athletes should be paid? Yup. Should they all get paid? Nope.

Allow those that can make money off of their appearance or whatever be able to do so...but paying the average joe college athlete, even a stipend as it relates to work-study is ridiculous to me.

The easiest solution is to stop restricting the student athlete from making a wage...allow them to work...allow them to make money by using their image or their status without it risking their eligibility. Stop putting the onus on the college to fork over the bill to pay the kids. They are already fronting a pretty hefty bill in regards to free education, room, board, food, tutoring and other educational benefits. If the kid wants to get paid...let'em get paid, but don't force the school to do it...if they can get paid for X, Y, or Z, let'em. If they can't...their education, room, board etc. is compensation enough. If by chance they don't think so...well, they should have gotten better grades or should have made a better academic decision.

This entire story and the concept of paying college athletes has lost sight of what the goal should be.

Some good stuff here. As for your last line, I think the NCAA has benefitted from this conversation being framed as a discussion on payment. In actuality, what the Northwestern kids want is worker's compensation. The NCAA has been able to avoid paying worker's comp for years due to the "student-athlete" term it invented in the 50s.

Definitely a slippery slope. But the issue as of right now seems to focus on injury coverage more than payment. That's what the NW athletes are seeking, per their own words.

From reddit:

http://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/1wdhsg/northwestern_wildcats_football_players_trying_to/cf0z0de

NU player here on a throwaway. This isn't about getting paid. What it is about is protection. Many of us will have numerous injuries throughout our playing careers. A group of those players will continue to feel the effects of those injuries long after their playing days are over. The goal is to have some sort of medical protection if we need surgeries stemming from injuries sustained while playing for our university. Another goal is graduate school for those who were fortunate enough to play as a true Freshman. Most student-athletes get redshirted in their first year, and receive one year of grad school payed for in their fifth year of eligibility. We feel as though it is fair to ask for the same investment from the university all around. It isn't about getting an extra $200 a month for spending. We have our stipend, and if we budget correctly we are able to make it stretch for the month. Would it be nice to have some part of jersey sales or memorabilia sales? Absolutely. But that is not the goal as of right now.

Just wanted to add in that I am extremely thankful for the opportunity I have been given to not only play football, but to attend a world class university such as Northwestern. It is an opportunity millions dream of having. We are treated well at Northwestern, but unfortunately that is not the case at many other schools. Hopefully we can create a voice for the players and clean up these issues.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

What the NW player says...sounds nice. Unfortunately, the end result of this movement has implications that far exceed what the initial goals are. You're opening a door with what sounds like good, justified reasons...but it will open up Pandora's Box.

 

[NAHSTE]

What the NW player says...sounds nice. Unfortunately, the end result of this movement has implications that far exceed what the initial goals are. You're opening a door with what sounds like good, justified reasons...but it will open up Pandora's Box.

Definitely. And the NCAA could have done something about this a long time ago before it got to this point.

But the system is broken. The ship be sinking.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

A bit of a sidenote in regards to football injuries...I'm sympathetic to the cause...but it is being lost, that football inherently comes with injuries and former and even current professionals as well as collegiates are now coming out of the woodwerks to claim some sort of piece of the pie to compensate for their injuries, past, present, or future. This isn't like working in an office and falling down a flight of steps or working in construction and getting your hand sawed off...its football, where hits are apart of the contract you are signing up for...there is no "accident" in football.

 

[EmpireWF]

This particular issue is concerning private universities for the time being.

Wondering what the tax implications are if through all the trials to come, players are actually deemed employees. Will all the student athletes become liable to taxes based on the cost of scholarships and other funds?