As revenues for college athletics have climbed into the billions over the recent decades, critics of a system that thrives on unpaid “student-athletes” have grown increasingly outspoken.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Taylor Branch attacked the NCAA’s current structure in a 2011 article in the Atlantic in 2011 entitled “The Shame of College Sports,” in which he compared the organization to a “classic cartel.” Others have similarly decried the system.
If a group of Northwestern football players have their way, however, the current structure could be drastically realigned in the next few years.
Wildcats quarterback Kain Colter, together with former UCLA linebacker and players’ rights advocate Ramogi Huma, announced Tuesday the formation of the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA) and petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to be recognized as a union.
“Right now the NCAA is like a dictatorship,” said Colter, who stressed that the desire to be recognized as employees does not stem from any mistreatment at Northwestern. “No one represents us in negotiations. The only way things are going to change is if players have a union.”
The NLRB will hold a meeting on February 7 in Chicago to determine if the Northwestern football players, the vast majority of whom signed authorization forms at Colter’s urging, are employees of the school as defined by the National Labor Relations Act. Colter expects recognition to be a long, drawn-out process.
“Everything now is in the hands of the lawyers,” Colter said. “We’re not expecting a decision to be made right away. It might take a year or two or go all the way to the Supreme Court.”
Even if, down the road, the players do win the battle of the courts and form a union, the system would not be completely overhauled.
Right now, CAPA is focusing, not on a “pay-for-play” system for the athletes, but instead on their long-term safety and well-being. Huma’s advocacy organization, the National College Players Association, lists 11 specific goals on its website, including stopping universities from using injury as an excuse to revoke an athlete’s scholarship and requiring schools to pay athletes’ sports-related medical bills.
“If you get hurt in school colors, just because someone labels you an amateur, that doesn’t mean you should not be taken care of for that injury,” said Huma, who founded the NCPA in 2001. “This is a multi-billion industry that is produced off the player’s talent.”
Players won’t immediately see their schools pay for their services, but if the NLRB rules in their favor, the financial situation of the average athlete could still improve dramatically.
If recognized, CAPA will push not only for coverage of sports-related medical bills, but also “cost of attendance” stipends that will help players pay for the day-to-day expenses of college life.
The organization will also advocate for the right of the players to use their likeness to make money while in school. The recognition of such a right would put an end to scandals such as the one at Ohio State in 2011 in which players were suspended for trading their autographs for tattoos.
Predictably, the NCAA was not happy with the players’ attempt to organize; they believe that a union would undermine the cherished concept of the “student-athlete.”
“This union-backed attempt to turn student athletes into employees undermines the purpose of college: an education,” said NCAA chief legal officer Donald Remy, who is confident the NLRB will rule in the NCAA’s favor. “Student-athletes are not employees, and their participation in college sports is voluntary.”
It will be a while before any official decisions are made, but it is clear that the bold move by Colter and his teammates is a huge step in the right direction for players’ rights.
“This is about finally giving college athletes a seat at the table,” Huma said, “Athletes deserve an equal voice when it comes to their physical, academic and financial protections.”
Dylan Sinn is a freelance contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSinn or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
