CHICAGO — The National Labor Relations Board on Monday blocked an historic bid by Northwestern University football players to form the nation's first college athletes' union, dealing a blow to a labor movement that could have transformed amateur sports, Associated Press is reporting.
In a unanimous decision, the board said the prospect of having both union and nonunion teams could lead to different standards at different schools — from the amount of money players receive to the amount of time they can practice — and create competitive imbalances on the field.
The ruling dismissed a stunning decision in March 2014 by a regional NLRB director in Chicago who said football players with scholarships are effectively school employees and entitled to organize. But Monday's decision did not directly address the question of whether the players are employees.
The face of the union drive, former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter, expressed disappointment in the ruling. But he said the unionization drive pressured the NCAA to take athletes' grievances more seriously.
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