Northwestern University’s appeal of a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling claims an NLRB regional director ignored evidence that the school’s scholarship football players are students—not employees—and relied too much on the testimony of a single player.
On April 9, the private university located in Evanston, Illinois, asked the full NLRB to review and overturn the March 26 ruling by NLRB regional director Peter Sung Ohr. That ruling said the university’s scholarship football players are employees and are therefore eligible to vote on union representation. The NLRB has set a union election for April 25. The Board may postpone the election in light of the appeal, but it doesn’t have to.
“Northwestern presented overwhelming evidence establishing that its athletic program is fully integrated with its academic mission, and that it treats its athletes as students first,” the appeal brief states. “Based on the testimony of a single player, the regional director described Northwestern’s football program in a way that is unrecognizable from the evidence actually presented at the hearing.”
The appeal also claims that Ohr ignored evidence that academics is the primary mission of the school. The appeal highlights the school’s 97 percent graduation rate among football players. The university said the regional director’s decision discounted three former football players’ testimony that their academic activities were their top priority.
“Intercollegiate athletics at Northwestern are inextricably linked to the educational mission of the university and represent just one of the 480 cocurricular activities that Northwestern offers its students for the purpose of providing the broadest educational experience available,” the brief states. “Northwestern views participation in intercollegiate athletics as part of the educational process.”
A statement from Northwestern says it believes the regional director improperly refused to apply the legal precedent established by the NLRB’s 2004 decision involving Brown University. That decision held that graduate assistants are primarily students, not employees.
The college athletics unionization push is being spearheaded by the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA), which is being assisted by the United Steelworkers union. Former UCLA football player Ramogi Huma and former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter are leaders of the group who have spoken out in favor of unionization.
CAPA’s goals, as outlined on its website, include guaranteed coverage for sports-related medical expenses for current and former players, steps to minimize the risk of sports-related traumatic brain injuries, steps to improve graduation rates, increased athletic scholarships, opportunities for commercial sponsorships, and due-process rights so players aren’t punished just because they are accused of a rule violation.