NLRB on the Offense: College Athletes Will Be Viewed As Employees.
The National Labor Relations Board’s new General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, has made clear that the Board will take the position going forward that, where appropriate, college athletes should be considered and classified as employees and not merely as “student-athletes.” She quoted Justice Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion in NCAA v. Alston (June 21, 2021), questioning “whether the NCAA and its member colleges can continue to justify not paying student athletes a fair share” of the billions of dollars in revenue that they generate, and suggesting they could resolve these compensation issues by “engag[ing] in collective bargaining.”
As a proud father of a junior in college, I am hoping this decision trickles down to enrich coed tennis players at liberal arts colleges.