Rebeca Piccardo/News Director
The National Labor Relations Board decision in the Northwestern University case has taken a historic leap for student athletes all over the country.
“It cannot be said that the Employer’s scholarship players are ‘primary students,'” the decision by NLRB Regional Director Peter Sung Ohr said.
All scholarship-receiving football players at Northwestern cast a secret ballot on Friday April 25, to decide whether or not the players will unionize. However, it may take some time to find out the results of the vote, which remain sealed as Northwestern requested a review of Ohr’s decision by the board, which was granted last Thursday.
Forming the union, called the College Athletes Players Association, was their goal to begin with.
The National College Players Association had submitted a petition on behalf of the players at Northwestern to the National Labor Relation Board back in January. They held several hearings throughout February and the decision came in later in March.
The March 26 decision cited, among other factors, that players train for 50 to 60 hours a week during a month-long training camp before the beginning of the academic year and train 40 to 50 hours a week during the three- to four-month football season.
“Not only is this more hours than many undisputed full-time employees work at their jobs, it is also many more hours than the players spend on their studies,” the decision said.
The decision marks a new era for college athletes across the country because of the acknowledgement that those receiving scholarship are not just students who play sports in their spare time.
Tourek Williams, a former FIU football player and current NFL player, voiced out his opinion about student athletes through his Twitter account.
According to Williams’ posts, student athletes are not regular college students.
“College athletes deserve to be paid,” read Williams’ Twitter post.
-news@fiusm.com
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