Northwestern Football Rules Declared Unlawful
Ruling by National Labor Relations Board finds Wildcats’ team handbook unlawfully restricts players’ ability to post on social media, discuss injuries and interact with the media
By
ANDREW BEATON
Updated Oct. 11, 2016 9:17 p.m. ET
A swath of Northwestern football’s rules governing player expression has been declared “unlawful” in a finding by the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency that oversees labor practices in private-sector workplaces.
The Wildcats’ team handbook was at the center of a memorandum released by the office of the labor agency’s general counsel, which found several practices that unlawfully restricted freedoms of player expression, such as policies concerning social media. This also included rules about players discussing their health and instructions to speak to the media only through the school’s athletic communications department.
In recent years, Northwestern has been at the center of a nationwide discussion about college football players’ rights. The football team had previously petitioned the NLRB to unionize, in essence claiming they were employees of the school. But in 2015, the NLRB rejected the bid in a ruling by its five-member board, which declined to decide whether the players are employees and suggested that the issues in question were under the NCAA’s jurisdiction.
This most recent determination about player expression has potentially broader implications for NCAA athletes, who have in recent years increasingly pushed back against the college sports governing body. While those past efforts have largely been executed in the courts, this may open the window for the NLRB to further consider other unfair labor practices—such as if athletes can and should be paid.
Write to Andrew Beaton at andrew.beaton@wsj.com
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Ruling by National Labor Relations Board finds Wildcats’ team handbook unlawfully restricts players’ ability to post on social media, discuss injuries and interact with the media
By
ANDREW BEATON
Updated Oct. 11, 2016 9:17 p.m. ET
A swath of Northwestern football’s rules governing player expression has been declared “unlawful” in a finding by the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency that oversees labor practices in private-sector workplaces.
The Wildcats’ team handbook was at the center of a memorandum released by the office of the labor agency’s general counsel, which found several practices that unlawfully restricted freedoms of player expression, such as policies concerning social media. This also included rules about players discussing their health and instructions to speak to the media only through the school’s athletic communications department.
In recent years, Northwestern has been at the center of a nationwide discussion about college football players’ rights. The football team had previously petitioned the NLRB to unionize, in essence claiming they were employees of the school. But in 2015, the NLRB rejected the bid in a ruling by its five-member board, which declined to decide whether the players are employees and suggested that the issues in question were under the NCAA’s jurisdiction.
This most recent determination about player expression has potentially broader implications for NCAA athletes, who have in recent years increasingly pushed back against the college sports governing body. While those past efforts have largely been executed in the courts, this may open the window for the NLRB to further consider other unfair labor practices—such as if athletes can and should be paid.
Write to Andrew Beaton at andrew.beaton@wsj.com
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