RBP
03-27-2014, 03:18 AM
By BEN STRAUSS and STEVE EDERMARCH 26, 2014
CHICAGO — A regional director of the National Labor Relations Board ruled Wednesday that a group of Northwestern football players were employees of the university and have the right to form a union and bargain collectively.
For decades, the major college sports have functioned on the bedrock principle of the student-athlete, with players receiving scholarships to pay for their education in exchange for their hours of practicing and competing for their university. But Peter Ohr, the regional N.L.R.B. director, tore down that familiar construct in a 24-page decision.
He ruled that Northwestern’s scholarship football players should be eligible to form a union based on a number of factors, including the time they devote to football (as many as 50 hours some weeks), the control exerted by coaches and their scholarships, which Mr. Ohr deemed a contract for compensation.
“It cannot be said that the employer’s scholarship players are ‘primarily students,’ ” the decision said.
The ruling comes at a time when the N.C.A.A. and its largest conferences are generating billions of dollars, primarily from football and men’s basketball. The television contract for the new college football playoff system is worth $7.3 billion over 10 years, and the current deal to broadcast the men’s basketball tournament is worth $10.8 billion over 14 years.
The decision could give momentum to those who believe the N.C.A.A. should modify its rules on how athletes are compensated. The ruling applies only to scholarship football players at Northwestern, but the precedent could extend to other Division I scholarship football players at similar private universities. (Collective bargaining at public universities is governed by state law, not the N.L.R.B.)
“It’s another brick being taken out of the castle the N.C.A.A. has constructed,” said the ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, a former college basketball player. “It’s not going to stand forever, and we’re getting closer and closer to it tumbling.”
A Northwestern spokesman, Alan K. Cubbage, said in a statement that the university would appeal the decision to the five-member N.L.R.B. in Washington, a process that could take months.
The N.C.A.A. was not a party to the labor proceeding, but it said in a statement that it was “disappointed” with the ruling.
“We strongly disagree with the notion that student-athletes are employees,” Donald Remy, the N.C.A.A.’s chief legal officer, wrote.
The newly formed College Athletes Players Association submitted the petition to the N.L.R.B. on behalf of the Northwestern players in January, and an often testy three-week hearing followed last month. Lawyers for the players association and Northwestern argued the question of whether the players were students, employees or a hybrid.
Kain Colter, a former Northwestern quarterback and the face of the movement, testified that he was steered away from difficult science classes and denied his dream of pursuing a career as a doctor. Northwestern administrators defended what is considered a sterling academic record: 97 percent of its football players graduate, the highest rate among universities in the top division of collegiate athletics.
Mr. Ohr’s ruling centered not on the treatment of players, but on the university’s relationship to them.
“Just because they’re a good employer doesn’t mean they’re not an employer,” said Tim Waters, the political director for the United Steelworkers, a union that has worked on rights for college athletes for more than a decade.
He added: “The players won on every question. It’s a huge victory.”
Mr. Ohr cited several examples to support his conclusion that Northwestern football players were on campus to play football and were different from other students. He noted that Northwestern football reported $235 million in revenue from 2003 to 2012, and that 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.
In 2004, the N.L.R.B. ruled that graduate assistants at Brown University were primarily students and denied them a petition to unionize. Mr. Ohr said that precedent did not apply to football players because, among other reasons, their role as athletes was wholly separate from their academic role.
The decision also compared the time spent on football activities with the time spent on academic responsibilities.
“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,” the ruling said. “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.”
The decision includes a directive for a secret ballot election, which Mr. Waters said would proceed soon despite Northwestern’s appeal. Mr. Colter has said that the vast majority of the team signed the original petition, and that the main concerns of the players group were better health care and limited practice hours.
A likely outcome is that Northwestern players hold a vote and the results are impounded while the national board reviews the case. If the decision is upheld, Northwestern will have the option to refuse to bargain with the union, which would send the case to a federal appeals court.
A number of lawyers have already taken aim at how the N.C.A.A. operates. A federal lawsuit filed last week is being led by Jeffrey Kessler, an antitrust lawyer who specializes in sports cases. The suit says that the N.C.A.A. and the five so-called power conferences have made billions of dollars off college football and basketball players by restraining their compensation.
The N.C.A.A. is also to go to trial this summer in a case brought by the former college basketball player Ed O’Bannon; college athletes are arguing that they should be compensated for the use of their likenesses in video games and broadcasts. At the same time, the N.C.A.A. has been targeted with lawsuits relating to its handling of head injuries.
The N.C.A.A. said Wednesday that its members had worked over the past three years to “re-evaluate the current rules.”
“While improvements need to be made, we do not need to completely throw away a system that has helped literally millions of students over the past decade alone attend college,” Remy, the N.C.A.A.’s lawyer, said. “We want student athletes — 99 percent of whom will never make it to the professional leagues — focused on what matters most: finding success in the classroom, on the field and in life.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/sports/ncaafootball/national-labor-relations-board-rules-northwestern-players-are-employees-and-can-unionize.html
CHICAGO — A regional director of the National Labor Relations Board ruled Wednesday that a group of Northwestern football players were employees of the university and have the right to form a union and bargain collectively.
For decades, the major college sports have functioned on the bedrock principle of the student-athlete, with players receiving scholarships to pay for their education in exchange for their hours of practicing and competing for their university. But Peter Ohr, the regional N.L.R.B. director, tore down that familiar construct in a 24-page decision.
He ruled that Northwestern’s scholarship football players should be eligible to form a union based on a number of factors, including the time they devote to football (as many as 50 hours some weeks), the control exerted by coaches and their scholarships, which Mr. Ohr deemed a contract for compensation.
“It cannot be said that the employer’s scholarship players are ‘primarily students,’ ” the decision said.
The ruling comes at a time when the N.C.A.A. and its largest conferences are generating billions of dollars, primarily from football and men’s basketball. The television contract for the new college football playoff system is worth $7.3 billion over 10 years, and the current deal to broadcast the men’s basketball tournament is worth $10.8 billion over 14 years.
The decision could give momentum to those who believe the N.C.A.A. should modify its rules on how athletes are compensated. The ruling applies only to scholarship football players at Northwestern, but the precedent could extend to other Division I scholarship football players at similar private universities. (Collective bargaining at public universities is governed by state law, not the N.L.R.B.)
“It’s another brick being taken out of the castle the N.C.A.A. has constructed,” said the ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, a former college basketball player. “It’s not going to stand forever, and we’re getting closer and closer to it tumbling.”
A Northwestern spokesman, Alan K. Cubbage, said in a statement that the university would appeal the decision to the five-member N.L.R.B. in Washington, a process that could take months.
The N.C.A.A. was not a party to the labor proceeding, but it said in a statement that it was “disappointed” with the ruling.
“We strongly disagree with the notion that student-athletes are employees,” Donald Remy, the N.C.A.A.’s chief legal officer, wrote.
The newly formed College Athletes Players Association submitted the petition to the N.L.R.B. on behalf of the Northwestern players in January, and an often testy three-week hearing followed last month. Lawyers for the players association and Northwestern argued the question of whether the players were students, employees or a hybrid.
Kain Colter, a former Northwestern quarterback and the face of the movement, testified that he was steered away from difficult science classes and denied his dream of pursuing a career as a doctor. Northwestern administrators defended what is considered a sterling academic record: 97 percent of its football players graduate, the highest rate among universities in the top division of collegiate athletics.
Mr. Ohr’s ruling centered not on the treatment of players, but on the university’s relationship to them.
“Just because they’re a good employer doesn’t mean they’re not an employer,” said Tim Waters, the political director for the United Steelworkers, a union that has worked on rights for college athletes for more than a decade.
He added: “The players won on every question. It’s a huge victory.”
Mr. Ohr cited several examples to support his conclusion that Northwestern football players were on campus to play football and were different from other students. He noted that Northwestern football reported $235 million in revenue from 2003 to 2012, and that 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.
In 2004, the N.L.R.B. ruled that graduate assistants at Brown University were primarily students and denied them a petition to unionize. Mr. Ohr said that precedent did not apply to football players because, among other reasons, their role as athletes was wholly separate from their academic role.
The decision also compared the time spent on football activities with the time spent on academic responsibilities.
“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,” the ruling said. “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.”
The decision includes a directive for a secret ballot election, which Mr. Waters said would proceed soon despite Northwestern’s appeal. Mr. Colter has said that the vast majority of the team signed the original petition, and that the main concerns of the players group were better health care and limited practice hours.
A likely outcome is that Northwestern players hold a vote and the results are impounded while the national board reviews the case. If the decision is upheld, Northwestern will have the option to refuse to bargain with the union, which would send the case to a federal appeals court.
A number of lawyers have already taken aim at how the N.C.A.A. operates. A federal lawsuit filed last week is being led by Jeffrey Kessler, an antitrust lawyer who specializes in sports cases. The suit says that the N.C.A.A. and the five so-called power conferences have made billions of dollars off college football and basketball players by restraining their compensation.
The N.C.A.A. is also to go to trial this summer in a case brought by the former college basketball player Ed O’Bannon; college athletes are arguing that they should be compensated for the use of their likenesses in video games and broadcasts. At the same time, the N.C.A.A. has been targeted with lawsuits relating to its handling of head injuries.
The N.C.A.A. said Wednesday that its members had worked over the past three years to “re-evaluate the current rules.”
“While improvements need to be made, we do not need to completely throw away a system that has helped literally millions of students over the past decade alone attend college,” Remy, the N.C.A.A.’s lawyer, said. “We want student athletes — 99 percent of whom will never make it to the professional leagues — focused on what matters most: finding success in the classroom, on the field and in life.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/sports/ncaafootball/national-labor-relations-board-rules-northwestern-players-are-employees-and-can-unionize.html