Look For, The Union Label...
Thursday, 27 March 2014 00:10![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dr_phil_physicsI had vaguely heard something about this a while ago, but today the NLRB ruled that Northwestern University scholarship football players were employees.
Huh.
You can imagine that NU and the NCAA are NOT pleased and you bet they've appealed to the full National Labor Relations Board.
Guess this is what happens when you have real scholar athletes. (grin) They do know how to make an argument.
Okay, so what's the deal? They're students. They get to attend Northwestern on scholarship -- worth $60,000/year ***. In return they get to play football. OR, Division I sports is a huge cash machine that everyone gets a piece of, except the athletes, who are actually forbidden to cash in.
But this isn't about the money, interestingly enough. If it was, the NCAA would rule them ineligible. Instead, this is about getting a seat at the table. Health and safety issues, especially in football, are in heavy rotation -- among other things the players want to make sure they get the long term care some of them might need.
Note that I said earlier this only applies to private colleges. And it is not by any means a done deal. Appeals and negotiations abound.
But the landscape is on the verge of a major change. And it shall be interesting.
Go Cats!
Dr. Phil
*** I should note that in 2014, as it was in 1976, that not only do most NU students have some sort of scholarship, over half get the full deal. They don't have to work for free, however.
Huh.
You can imagine that NU and the NCAA are NOT pleased and you bet they've appealed to the full National Labor Relations Board.
Guess this is what happens when you have real scholar athletes. (grin) They do know how to make an argument.
Okay, so what's the deal? They're students. They get to attend Northwestern on scholarship -- worth $60,000/year ***. In return they get to play football. OR, Division I sports is a huge cash machine that everyone gets a piece of, except the athletes, who are actually forbidden to cash in.
But this isn't about the money, interestingly enough. If it was, the NCAA would rule them ineligible. Instead, this is about getting a seat at the table. Health and safety issues, especially in football, are in heavy rotation -- among other things the players want to make sure they get the long term care some of them might need.
Note that I said earlier this only applies to private colleges. And it is not by any means a done deal. Appeals and negotiations abound.
But the landscape is on the verge of a major change. And it shall be interesting.
Go Cats!
Dr. Phil
*** I should note that in 2014, as it was in 1976, that not only do most NU students have some sort of scholarship, over half get the full deal. They don't have to work for free, however.
