Northwestern Players Trying to Unionize

[UNTFan23]

About 20+ years ago a TCU football player broke his neck in a game. He spent the rest of his life in a wheel chair, and there was an annual golfing fundraiser to help pay expenses. He sued to be classified as an employee, but lost.The acceptance of all scholarships is voluntary. Athletics is the only one where you know up front that you have a chance of severe injury, but aren't told of what their liability is.This is the hole that I would like to see filled, which should be if they were insured. Do you have health care coverage that covers catastrophic injury?

So basically what you are wanting is for the university to front the expense of Long Term Disability insurance for student athletes? I wonder how much that would cost and how it would work considering a student athlete would only be with the school at most 4 to 5 years.

[NT03]

All It would take is for every player to boycott the 1st week of the season and they could get just about anything they wanted afterwards

[DeepGreen]

All It would take is for every player to boycott the 1st week of the season and they could get just about anything they wanted afterwards

Yeh, man. the players need to strike!

[UNTLifer]

About 20+ years ago a TCU football player broke his neck in a game. He spent the rest of his life in a wheel chair, and there was an annual golfing fundraiser to help pay expenses. He sued to be classified as an employee, but lost.The acceptance of all scholarships is voluntary. Athletics is the only one where you know up front that you have a chance of severe injury, but aren't told of what their liability is.This is the hole that I would like to see filled, which should be if they were insured. Do you have health care coverage that covers catastrophic injury?

Then fix the insurance problem, but making them employees is not the answer.

[Mean Green 93-98]

About 20+ years ago a TCU football player broke his neck in a game. He spent the rest of his life in a wheel chair, and there was an annual golfing fundraiser to help pay expenses. He sued to be classified as an employee, but lost.The acceptance of all scholarships is voluntary. Athletics is the only one where you know up front that you have a chance of severe injury, but aren't told of what their liability is.This is the hole that I would like to see filled, which should be if they were insured. Do you have health care coverage that covers catastrophic injury?

Why refer to the way things were 20+ years ago?

Walker is covered by the NCAA's insurance policy for student athletes who are catastrophically injured.

The plan includes up to $20 million in health care and recovery costs for a player's lifetime, if necessary.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/Community-shows-support-for-injured-Tulane-player-at-fundraiser-171642441.html

[Danish43]

This would change college sports.

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/10363430/outside-lines-northwestern-wildcats-football-players-trying-join-labor-union

This is silly. Do these kids realize what a degree from Northwestern is worth and not talking money but prestige after graduation. You get a business degree from this fine institution and employers will look. At it is, student that get degrees get more earning over their lifetime than somebody without one.

[Mean Green 93-98]

Communist

Any student-athlete who would rather enter the work world than get an education is free to do so.

[Mean Green 93-98]

You know, the more I hear this kind of talk, it almost makes me wish athletic scholarships were done away with altogether. It would force the NFL and NBA to quit using college sports as their "farm teams." Let those leagues draft players right out of high school and develop them in their own farm system. Then those who played college sports would be far more likely to be true "student-athletes."

[GOMG2013]

As an employee at my job, if I do not perform or meet expectations, I can get fired. Why would they want this situation?

So if a player does not work out, does he get fired and have to use the money he earned to pay for the rest of his school?

[JesseMartin]

The value of not only the scholarship, but also the support staff (as mentioned by somebody on the last page - tutors, etc.) can vary greatly from one college to the next, but at some of the pricier schools it's pushing 100K a year. Would they expect to get paid anywhere near that much as "amateurs" or "minor leaguers"? Even at UNT the value would probably be in the $30-40K range which is about what some of the practice/scout team guys get paid in the NFL. If they unionize for collective bargaining, would that mean everyone would have to be paid the same, regardless of conference or costs at their particular institution? If so that could hurt them even more because if they got paid less than low-end pros, there's no way it would cover all of the costs at most of the schools. Let them use it for issues like insurance, fair punishment for infractions, and revenue sharing (like how things are already progressing in some areas, where they get the money after eligibility expires for things like jersey sales). But if it involves "pay" then it sounds like a lose-lose situation. And to echo what some others already said, if they are considered amateurs can they even demand pay? Stipends are different as they would help with the cost of living, but I don't see how there would be a way to "lawyer around" the fact that by their very classification they couldn't be paid.

Edited January 29, 2014 by JesseMartin

[wardly]

I didn't realize NCAA fixed the insurance problem, which was my only issue.Thanks for bringing me up to date.Regarding unions,next it will be the cheerleaders.

[TheTastyGreek]

Any student-athlete who would rather enter the work world than get an education is free to do so.

Not if they want to work in the NBA or NFL.

[Mean Green 93-98]

Not if they want to work in the NBA or NFL.

Many fields require someone to attend college before consideration.

But as I mentioned in another post, I'd be more than fine if the NBA and NFL quit that requirement.

[Ben Gooding]

I say let's start holding "student"-athletes more accountable in the classroom, particularly P5 conferences. Then they will realize what they are actually receiving for free. This would also weed out the cheating athletes and the idiots. Because hate to break the news, but these dudes aren't earning their 2.0 GPA to maintain eligibility (especially at P5 university's).

[UNT90]

How about when Notre Dame vs USC gets canceled for a strike.

Kinda like comparing the teamsters to the local, bicycle riding ice cream salesmen, don't ya think? Edited January 29, 2014 by UNT90

[emmitt01]

You know who I blame for unions in Chicago?

OBAMA!!!

[Cerebus]

So at Northwestern, it costs $15,040 per QUARTER. That would be $30,080 per semester, and $60,160 per year to attend school full-time. Then, don't they get extra money for room & board on top of that tuition money?

The athletes are getting this tuition paid for them. $60k / yr is alot of money. Does this money not count to them?

This is all tax free. If they become employees, that we be reclassified as something that will be taxed.

[MeanGreenTexan]

This is all tax free. If they become employees, that we be reclassified as something that will be taxed.

Oh, I'm sure there will be demands for the scholarship money, which is still money being given to them, to be excluded from any kind of taxation... because they don't actually get that money in hand to spend.

[Green59]

Oh, I'm sure there will be demands for the scholarship money, which is still money being given to them, to be excluded from any kind of taxation... because they don't actually get that money in hand to spend.

I can't say for other schools but at UNT if a football player lives off campus he receives a monthly check that he is free to spend however he wishes for rent, food, travel, alcohol etc.

[meaniegreenie]

You know who I blame for unions in Chicago?

OBAMA!!!

I blame Chicago and the unions for Obama.

[GrayEagle]

If they don't have spending money now where are they getting the money for union dues?

[DT 90]

I can't say for other schools but at UNT if a football player lives off campus he receives a monthly check that he is free to spend however he wishes for rent, food, travel, alcohol etc.

It's that way at every D1 school. There is a large difference in those amounts though. In some cases, the amounts barely cover the basics; rent, utilties and food.

[PlummMeanGreen]

This very delicate union issue (and dues?) could be a house-divider at Northwestern U since the subject of unions seems to do that in every other part of American life.

Conference-USA presidents and AD's have already given a thumbs up for stipends if the NCAA allows it and they had that vote as far back as last August.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2013/08/20/conference-usa-supports-idea-on-stipends-for-ncaa-athletes/2678341/

Edited January 30, 2014 by PlummMeanGreen

[scrappyman1]

I feel the NCAA will get in the middle of this and put a big

halt to it.

[TheFranchise]

If they don't have spending money now where are they getting the money for union dues?

That's a big point that I haven't heard mention of, yet. (Granted, haven't listened to much sports radio today, but still)

As someone that was once a union worker ages ago, you DO have to pay for this sort of thing. And I'm sure the moment some of these kids start getting billed for their union dues, they're going to sit back and go, "Wait . . . I have to PAY for this?"

TINSTAAFL