Northwestern Football Players Allowed to Unionize

[Cail]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...n-bid-unionize

[SephYuyX]

Inc higher tuition costs for everyone else?

[Xajii]

so now this will go to appeals in DC and spend 4-5 years in the court system, will probably make it to the supreme court by 2020. interesting

[Correction]

Inc higher tuition costs for everyone else?

That happens whether or not a school has an athletic program.

[Callisto]

It's Northwestern, they can't get a whole lot higher than they already are

[Moss]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...n-bid-unionize

Can't even bother with a description in the god damn OP? smh

[Kirin]

I really don't think any good can come of this.

I understand the desire (and in some cases, need and necessity) for these players to get paid beyond their scholarships. I understand the NCAA making way more than they spend on these kids, so in that aspect I can agree something needs to be done.

Bigger schools can probably deal with this better than most, but what happens to the FCS schools who regularly take payments for cupcake matches? Will Appalachain State be beholden to the same union interests as a Texas, USC, or Florida? If not, how do you deal with players leaving union schools for whatever reason to FCS schools under transfer rules? What would need to happen for FCS students transferring into a union school?

I can also see cases where the player's union sues the school for suspending a player for grades before a title game. I can see issues where this does become the NFL Minor Leagues and the scholarship and education is secondary to securing competitive "wages" and on-field performance standards. I can see issues where students are removed from the program for any number of criminal acts, which commonly happens, but then the player's union sues the school. The NCAA is already pretty strict on practice times, but if this become a true "job" is practice going to be considered training and placed above the priority of school classes?

Also to consider, a lot of these kids have little to no "real world" 9-5 experience. Who is going to be running these unions? Who is going to be making the decisions? Obviously adults and lawyers who most certainly have the athletes best interest, and not their own, at heart. All this would do (correct me if I am wrong) is potentially create another NCAA under a different name that collects union dues.

Way too many things can go wrong here. Way too many things probably will.

[synistar]

I can see this as a stepping point for further negotiations between academic institutions and student athletes. As is, there is a whole bunch of 'nope' that student athletes can do. Do you know it's an NCAA violation for a coach to give any of their athletes a ride home unless they give a ride to every other student? Hell, even a cheap $5 gift for some fast food from any college official is an impermissible benefit. So many small stupid things are NCAA violations that I'm not shocked the schools' committees of compliance don't catch everything.

I do agree there needs to be reforms for student athletes. Sure athletes get the benefit of getting a free education, but what percentage of them are at a college institution for said education? For basketball, definitely not. Football, not so much. Other sports, a maybe. Colleges are definitely exploiting students to rally the boosters, make winners, sell those television deals, make money for pet projects. Would it be fair for these athletes to get some sort of cost of living stipend along with their free rides? AFAIK, scholarships only cover school fees and books.

As far as a union goes? Shouldn't happen. That's a bit too far. Maybe the schools and the NCAA will find some middle ground to make sure athletes get their fair dues for representing their respective institutions. But schools are like businesses. Gotta keep making money and keep the alumni happy.

[Moss]

Some clarification by a legal analyst:

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/...ter-legal-team

[Moss]

I really don't think any good can come of this.

Really? Nothing? Anything to help destroy the NCAA is positive.

I understand the desire (and in some cases, need and necessity) for these players to get paid beyond their scholarships. I understand the NCAA making way more than they spend on these kids, so in that aspect I can agree something needs to be done.

In Northwestern's case, the point of unionizing is not so they can be paid.

I can also see cases where the player's union sues the school for suspending a player for grades before a title game. I can see issues where this does become the NFL Minor Leagues and the scholarship and education is secondary to securing competitive "wages" and on-field performance standards. I can see issues where students are removed from the program for any number of criminal acts, which commonly happens, but then the player's union sues the school. The NCAA is already pretty strict on practice times, but if this become a true "job" is practice going to be considered training and placed above the priority of school classes?

I would argue that the bolded is already true. Miss practice? Suspension/kicked off team. Miss class? No biggie.

Way too many things can go wrong here. Way too many things probably will.

It's better than the status quo.

[Kirin]

Some clarification by a legal analyst:

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/...ter-legal-team

This might be the biggie here:

Q: What impact does the decision have on public universities?

A: None. The decision in the Northwestern case affects only private universities. Any attempt by players to form a union at, say, Ohio State, or Nebraska, would be governed by the specific state's laws on unions of public employees (teachers, firefighters, police.) It is different in each state. But there would seem to be little doubt that athletes at these public schools will be watching what happens to determine whether they want to do something similar. Large public employee unions like the SEIU or AFSCME may be willing to help these athletes in the same way the United Steelworkers helped Colter and the Northwestern players.

For now, maybe. Whats going to happen if Northwestern unionizes, and bargains for separate benefits/rules from the Big10 apart from what other member schools receive? What about schools like Vandy and Duke who are private institutions in very important conferences otherwise consisting of public universities? In the case of public universities, would taxpayers have any say in what the teams would/would not be able to do in terms of collective bargaining?

Really? Nothing? Anything to help destroy the NCAA is positive.

Destroying the NCAA and replacing it are two separate things. All this would end up doing is replacing one bloated, overreaching, contradictory, governing body with one that will eventually become the same thing.

[Moss]

If it was a clear cut, perfect solution, it would have happened already.

Destroying the NCAA and replacing it are two separate things. All this would end up doing is replacing one bloated, overreaching, contradictory, governing body with one that will eventually become the same thing.

That's a leap considering where we are in the process right now.

[Correction]

Destroying the NCAA and replacing it are two separate things. All this would end up doing is replacing one bloated, overreaching, contradictory, governing body with one that will eventually become the same thing.

Except this time the organization will be able to bargain for the benefit of student-athletes instead of concentrating all the negotiating power in the hands of the NCAA and the athletic department heads. One step at a time, this isn't the only lawsuit corroding the grip the NCAA has on their slaves.

[SephYuyX]

That happens whether or not a school has an athletic program.

Like any other company; any reason to hike prices.

[Moss]

Nice write-up of the situation

http://grantland.com/features/northw...hletics-union/

[Correction]

NCAA allows 'unlimited meals'

The NCAA is expected to undergo major reforms in the coming months in hopes of staving off lawsuits that threaten to junk the whole system. Today, the NCAA announced smaller reforms that probably should have been enacted 50 years ago, like allowing their athletes to get enough to eat.

Among the reforms:

Athletes can now get unlimited meals from their universities.

As ridiculous as it sounds, athletes were previously limited to three meals a day or a stipend. That rule came under controversy recently after UConn basketball star Shabazz Napier said that he and his teammates sometimes have "hungry nights" because the school is not allowed to give them enough to eat. Current Houston Texans running back Arian Foster has also been critical of the NCAA's food policy, pointing out that Tennessee's coaches were committing a violation by buying Foster and his hungry teammates tacos while he was in college.

Oklahoma recently made a mockery of the rule, reporting that players had committed a violation for taking pasta portions that were $3 too big. After, the NCAA said the controversy was overblown.

The governing body has tried to take steps toward making the food rules more sensible in recent years. For instance: It is no longer against the rules for a coach to buy a recruit cream cheese to go with his or her bagel.

Time for grad school

[Serra]

Didn't feel like this deserved its own thread:

WASHINGTON -- NCAA president Mark Emmert says college athletes should receive "scholarships for life."

Emmert also told a Senate panel Wednesday that scholarships should cover the full cost of attending college, not just the basics.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/st...g-senate-panel

I think something like this may have been ok a few years ago, but at this point, I don't see it as all that satisfactory.

[Brill Weave]

The NCAA is, and always will be, a complete fucking joke.

[Cail]

NLRB rules they cant unionize

[Serra]

Is this the current "Should Student Athletes be Paid?" thread? Either way..

In a monumental ruling today, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the NCAA’s rules prohibiting student-athletes from being paid for the use of their names, images, and likenesses constituted an unlawful restraint of trade in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

http://www.atlredline.com/ncaa-defea...uit-1733800261