Northwestern football players have requested representation from a labor union according to Tom Farrey of ESPN’s Outside the Lines.
Ramogi Huma, president of the National College Players Association, filed a petition at the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago on behalf of Northwestern players. It is unclear how many players are requesting representation. The Wildcat players want the NLRB to recognize them as employees.
Outside the Lines reports the following:
Huma told “Outside The Lines” that the move to unionize players at Northwestern started with quarterback Kain Colter, who reached out to him last spring and asked for help in giving athletes representation in their effort to improve the conditions under which they play NCAA sports. Colter became a leading voice in regular NCPA-organized conference calls among players from around the country.
Colter says college football players “need the same protections as NBA and NFL players. The NFL has the NFLPA, the NBA has the NBPA. Now college athletes have the CAPA.”
Northwestern has released the following statement from vice president for athletics and recreation Jim Phillips:
“Northwestern believes that our student-athletes are not employees and collective bargaining is therefore not the appropriate method to address these concerns,”
“However, we agree that the health and academic issues being raised by our student-athletes and others are important ones that deserve further consideration.”
What do you think about the actions of Kain Colter and the Northwestern players? Feel free to sound off below.
