this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2024
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159
US labor official says Dartmouth basketball players are school employees, sets stage for union vote (apnews.com)
submitted 9 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
23 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

A National Labor Relations Board regional official ruled on Monday that Dartmouth basketball players are employees of the school, clearing the way for an election that would create the first-ever labor union for NCAA athletes.

All 15 members of the Dartmouth men’s basketball team signed a petition in September asking to join Local 560 of the Service Employees International Union, which already represents some other employees at the Ivy League school in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Unionizing would allow the players to negotiate not only over salary but working conditions, including practice hours and travel.

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[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 33 points 9 months ago (4 children)

Man, soccer in England really seems to have pro sports figured out.

We need to get rid of college sports, and have minor leagues where the kids get paid to play.

If they want to use their earnings and go to school later (when they can actually focus on class instead of athletics) then that's their choice.

But there's an insane amount of money being made off these kids. Most only get a diploma out of it for classes they never attended. They get the degree but it's worthless because they never learned anything

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It has always bothered me that academic institutions let people in for free or for much less tuition and are more lenient on their academics if they are good at sports. Having a physical advantage over other students shouldn't translate into making it easier to get into a school and pay for it.

Like you said, let them play on minor league teams and if they want to use that money toward tuition, they can.

Unfortunately, there is way too much money invested in college sports in the U.S. for that to happen.

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

It's because we can not imagine letting people in for free if they don't "earn" it. Sports scholarships let people pretend that they earned their place in the school because they worked hard to get there, ignoring the fact that sports are not academic in any way.

Taking away sports scholarships without making college free would just result in these athletes never getting degrees.

[–] ThePantser@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Taking away sports scholarships without making college free would just result in these athletes never getting degrees.

That's because there is no future in sports and telling these kids you made it to college sports and you will go pro someday is a lie. It's only hurting the ones who never make it they get a poor education and disappointment.

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml -1 points 9 months ago

Just because there's no future in sports doesn't mean their scholarship doesn't get them an employable degree.

And a poor education with a degree is still a very good deal.

[–] Dirk@lemmy.ml 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Taking away sports scholarships without making college free would just result in these athletes never getting degrees.

If your school spends more money on athletes than on education it is not a school but a sports club.

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml -4 points 9 months ago

A sports club with degrees that employers recognize, and that's all that matters. Actual education is irrelevant.

[–] Not_mikey@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm all for players getting payed and unionizing but I think getting rid of college sports would only hurt the players. Less people would watch them and therefore the players would get less money. A large part of the audience for college sports is students and alumni, if you take that away there's not much reason for people to tune in or go up to Hanover New Hampshire to watch their basketball team play and buy merch, especially if they're not a good team.

It works in England because soccer's the only big sport so you can make some money even if your a lower tier team.

Not focusing on academics is a problem but if the option is to have to play in a minor league team, earn a middling to low income that's going to basic neccesities, not make it to the big leagues and be left with no other career prospects or savings; or go to college, make a low income but be able to save it as room and board are covered, not make it to the big leagues but at least have the piece of paper that permits you to even think about having a decent life in this country, I'd go with the latter.

[–] BURN@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Yep, nobody is going to watch a minor league game. The reason college athletics work is because of the name attatched to the school. Nobody cares about some minor league team, they care about the team that represents the school they went to.

[–] son_named_bort@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Basketball does have a minor league (G-League). There have been attempts to get kids to go to the G-League in lieu of college, but so far the results haven't been great.

[–] BURN@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Nobody cares about real minor leagues. The reason college sports work is the brands attached. Otherwise nobody would watch. The G-League has the same issues, there’s no reason to watch it

[–] TIMMAY@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago

Im not denying your points in any way, just adding that there are a lot of people besides pro sports players who get degrees but dont learn anything in the process.

[–] rockSlayer@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Let's fucking go! So happy for them

[–] BURN@lemmy.world -3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

And this will end college sports as we know them, which is unequivocally a bad thing. I know people here are rooting for this, but this will end all sports departments outside of a super league and end the US dominance in most Olympic sports.

I’m still of the opinion that scholarships are payment enough for playing.

A minor league won’t work in the US. It doesn’t work for any other sports here either. The NBA/MLB minor leagues provide no reason to watch the product, and nobody does. College sports are unique in that people will root for historically terrible teams because they have a connection to the team.

[–] CazzoBuco@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Boohoo kids aren't being exploited for your entertainment, what a terrible world!

[–] BURN@lemmy.world -3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

They’re not being exploited. They get free degrees, something the rest of us have to pay 10s of thousands of dollars for. That’s not exploitation

[–] CazzoBuco@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Fun fact, the only people who get to decide if they're being exploited are the basketball players. They seem to want to unionize so, yeah, seems like they agree with me. It's exploitation.

[–] BURN@lemmy.world -3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I can claim my job is exploiting me, despite being paid a fair wage (which I believe a degree and scholarship are) but it doesn’t make it true.

They’re killing the golden goose. Ending college athletics ends almost all their careers. They won’t get paid, there will just be no offerings for them to play anymore.

[–] CazzoBuco@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Sounds like you should unionize if you feel exploited.

[–] BURN@lemmy.world -1 points 9 months ago

I’m not, nor would I want to. Unions are great for certain fields, but not mine, and would hurt more than it’d help me. It has nothing to do with this either.

Just because someone feels some way doesn’t make that feeling an objective truth.

[–] Arcane_Trixster@lemm.ee 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

So they get the equivalent of "10's of thousands of dollars" (appraised by the school), and the schools get to rake in millions on ticket sales + concessions, broadcasting deals and merchandise with the kid's name on it, and if the kid complains or does anything to make money independently, which is every American's right, they lose that scholarship and get kicked out of the sport?

Still sounds like exploitation to me.

[–] BURN@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

I don’t see it as exploitation. The players chose to go to that school and play football. They’re being provided benefits worth 10s of thousands of dollars, as well as significant amenities that regular students are not. It’s not my problem that sports makes more money than other extracurriculars. The band, the cheer team and every other sport make that same decision, but don’t get paid either, because the school is providing something of value in exchange for the labor provided.

I also agree with the original premise of NIL, which allowed players to benefit from their Name, Image and Likeness. That is no longer the way it’s being applied, and is pay for play.

Paying the players as employees will end women’s sports. It’ll also kill the significant majority of non Football/MBB programs, resulting in a net loss of sports programs everywhere, as well as the end of the American domination of most Olympic sports.

[–] TIMMAY@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago

I say its a good thing, organzied sports are a blight on the society. I may or may not actually support this claim, but I can certainly make it, which invalidates your claim that the end of college sports is unequivocally a bad thing. It isnt.