Johnson v. NCAA

[GTRambler]

Required reading:

Johnson v. NCAA Latest Case to Challenge College Sports Amateurism Model

Over the past 10 years, a series of legal cases have chipped away at the foundation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s amateur athletics model...

www.athleticbusiness.com

 

[TromboneJacket]

Required reading:

Johnson v. NCAA Latest Case to Challenge College Sports Amateurism Model

Over the past 10 years, a series of legal cases have chipped away at the foundation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s amateur athletics model...

www.athleticbusiness.com

What a bunch of terrible court decisions! The arguments basically amount to “Because I said so.” The nascent minor leagues of professional football should debunk any kind of antitrust violation. If we’re going to decide that college football is in fact a professional sport, then there should be no problem instituting policies such as salary caps and drafts of high school players. After all, since they’re supposedly employees, there’s no longer an argument about telling them where they have to study. If the NFL can do it, so can the NCAA.

 

[forensicbuzz]

If this happens universities should divest themselves of revenue generating sports and focus on student athletes as student athlete (club sports and Olympic sports). If a school wants to associate with a professional organization (i.e. lend their name to a professional organization such as a football team), then that should be a contracted relationship between the team and the school.

I’m tired of this crap.

 

[cpf2001]

It's clearly a professional sport from the perspective of the coaches and administration who have it as a primary and often extremely-lucrative career. From the summary in the article, that seems to be at the heart of Kavanaugh's position - how do you justify that some of the people are employees and others aren't?

And you can be a student and an employee of the university trivially in non-athletic contexts, so it's not some academic-related thing. You could also transfer as a regular student and get employment from the new university without any "sitting out a year" or having limited years of eligibility to work for them; I did it as a TA myself.

I'm not sure there *would* be a legal problem instituting a salary cap or draft or anything like that like other leagues do as long as it was negotiated properly between the teams and their player-employees instead of set by dictat of the NCAA - minor league baseball players joined the MLBPA recently, so similar momentum is happening elsewhere.

 

[GTRambler]

The Georgia Tech Academic Office should enter into a contract with the Georgia Tech Athletic Association?

Hmmm … uhhh … I don’t know what to think.

 

[southernhive]

Highschool football players will be next if this is allowed to continue. Our HS Football Coach is the highest paid employee at the school, except for the Principal. The football coaches salary has to be lower than the Principal's salary. Inorder to be competitive with other HS Football coaches salary, the Principal's salary is increased.

All FB coaches and the Principal has increased salaries, but the players get nothing. Based on the article, this would require the athletes to be compensated.

Next, it will be Middle School FB.

 

[Thwg777]

If this is in-play, hopefully the courts will review why players need 3 years of ‘college’ to enter the NFL draft. Last I checked 0 years are needed to enter the other draft…

In addition to the principle of the matter, I always thought that would raise parity, which I view is positive for the sport. Some teams consisting of solid upperclassmen while others with a bunch of 4 or 5* 18 year olds.

 

[ibeattetris]

If this is in-play, hopefully the courts will review why players need 3 years of ‘college’ to enter the NFL draft. Last I checked 0 years are needed to enter the other draft…

I don't know how this hasn't been attacked based on ageism. I think it would be fine if a single team rejected an athlete for not having enough experience (in their eyes), but a blanket ban based on something that is predominantly determined by someone's age seems iffy.

 

[ibeattetris]

I'm not sure there *would* be a legal problem instituting a salary cap or draft or anything like that like other leagues do as long as it was negotiated properly between the teams and their player-employees instead of set by dictat of the NCAA - minor league baseball players joined the MLBPA recently, so similar momentum is happening elsewhere.

I don't know what the logistics would required for collective bargaining at the NCAA level. The MLBPA and NFLPA have players in the league for a long time (even if the average tenure is short). The guaranteed max tenure in college is going to be 5 years, so the turnover for representatives is going to be insane.

 

[georgytech]

Could a NFL player with eligibility left now come back & play as a paid employee of a college or university ?

 

[forensicbuzz]

I don't know how this hasn't been attacked based on ageism. I think it would be fine if a single team rejected an athlete for not having enough experience (in their eyes), but a blanket ban based on something that is predominantly determined by someone's age seems iffy.

Was challenged in Court and overturned in Court of Appeals. Because the age restriction was part of the collective bargaining between the players and the owners in the NFL, they can set age limits.

Mike Williams and Maurice Clarett in 2003/4

 

[ibeattetris]

Was challenged in Court and overturned in Court of Appeals. Because the age restriction was part of the collective bargaining between the players and the owners in the NFL, they can set age limits.

Mike Williams and Maurice Clarett in 2003/4

I don't understand this. The players in college are not protected by the NFLPA. How can the age limit be set by people not represented? I'm not a lawyer, so this makes no sense to me.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I don't understand this. The players in college are not protected by the NFLPA. How can the age limit be set by people not represented? I'm not a lawyer, so this makes no sense to me.

That was the argument Williams and Clarett put forth. It was overturned on Appeal. I agree, the ruling made no sense to me.

The judges rejected Clarett's claims that the rule is an unreasonable restraint on the labor market, and that the NFL players' union cannot bargain on his behalf because he is not a member.

"As a permissible, mandatory subject of bargaining, the conditions under which a prospective player, like Clarett, will be considered for employment as an NFL player are for the union . . . and the NFL to determine . . . Clarett is in this respect no different from the typical worker who is confident that he or she has the skills to fill a job vacancy but does not possess the qualifications or meet the requisite criteria that have been set," the judges wrote.

 

[ChicagobasedJacket]

It's clearly a professional sport from the perspective of the coaches and administration who have it as a primary and often extremely-lucrative career. From the summary in the article, that seems to be at the heart of Kavanaugh's position - how do you justify that some of the people are employees and others aren't?

And you can be a student and an employee of the university trivially in non-athletic contexts, so it's not some academic-related thing. You could also transfer as a regular student and get employment from the new university without any "sitting out a year" or having limited years of eligibility to work for them; I did it as a TA myself.

I'm not sure there *would* be a legal problem instituting a salary cap or draft or anything like that like other leagues do as long as it was negotiated properly between the teams and their player-employees instead of set by dictat of the NCAA - minor league baseball players joined the MLBPA recently, so similar momentum is happening elsewhere.

There wouldn’t be it’s just the public is late to realize the revenue generating had become professionalized.

 

[ChicagobasedJacket]

Highschool football players will be next if this is allowed to continue. Our HS Football Coach is the highest paid employee at the school, except for the Principal. The football coaches salary has to be lower than the Principal's salary. Inorder to be competitive with other HS Football coaches salary, the Principal's salary is increased.

All FB coaches and the Principal has increased salaries, but the players get nothing. Based on the article, this would require the athletes to be compensated.

Next, it will be Middle School FB.

That’s highly unlikely. The NCAA and P5 are in the cross hairs because the conferences (non-profit entities) are making more than actual professional sports leagues and the labor (i.e., football and basketball) is compensated less than 5% of revenues

 

[jgtengineer]

Honestly GT needs to sue the NCAA to get our vacated wins reinstated due to Shoegate. Since those things are no longer impermissible. Same with reggie bush and his heisman.