Commentary: Kain Colter's Union

Earlier this week, multiple media outlets reported that former Northwestern Wildcats quarterback Kain Colter announced plans to form a labor union to represent college athletes.  The new organization, known as the College Athletes Players Association, has petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for recognition and the right for college athletes to collectively bargain as employees of their respective universities.  Assisting Mr. Colter in his efforts to unionize players are Ramogi Huma, president of the National College Players Association, and Leo Gerard, president of United Steelworkers.  According to the Chicago Tribune, Bleacher Report, and The New York Times, Colter and his associates, at this time, have no plans to promote the longstanding issue of whether or not college athletes should receive salaries.  Rather, the new organization, if it receives federal recognition, plans to make the following demands:

1.  Provide financial coverage for sports-related medical expenses (including after graduation)
2.  Establish educational trust fund to help former players graduate
3.  Make all scholarships guaranteed four-year scholarships
4.  Make stipends cover full cost of attendance, regardless of school
5.  More representation for major N.C.A.A. decisions
6.  Placing independent concussion experts on the sidelines during games
7.  "Due Process" before a coach could strip a player of his scholarship for a rules violation

Mr. Colter and the players he represents are wise to focus on issues like athletic scholarships and the mental and physical health of athletes.  These are concerns that can engender broad public support for organizations like the College Athletes Players Association since recent reports have revealed that the N.C.A.A. and the N.F.L. have shown little or no concern for the safety and the economic well-being of their players.  Indeed, the case of Hall of Fame player Rayfield Wright, who was the subject of an article in last Monday's New York Times because of his struggle with dementia, is one example of how the N.F.L. deliberately withheld information about the effects of concussions from their players.  As for the N.C.A.A., Mr. Colter described it as a "dictatorship" that "knowingly established a pay-for-play system while using terms like 'student-athlete' and 'amateurism' to skirt labor laws."  If Mr. Colter's union receives federal approval, it would only affect teams that play for private universities.  State governments oversee public/state universities and are not subject to federal statutes and the National Labor Relations Board.  Still, any success from Mr. Colter and his allies may enable other players to bargain collectively for greater medical and economic protections from the N.C.A.A. and the athletic departments they represent.