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College athletes can unionize, federal agency says
Associated Press ^ | March 26, 2014 | Michael Tarm

Posted on 03/26/2014 12:33:35 PM PDT by AU72

In a stunning ruling that has the potential to revolutionize college athletics, a federal agency said Wednesday that football players at Northwestern University can create the nation's first college athlete's union.

The decision by a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board means it agrees football players at the Big Ten school qualify as employees under federal law and therefore can legally unionize.

(Excerpt) Read more at bigstory.ap.org ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: unions
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To: discostu

Here is the data.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/schools/finances/

Texas takes in 168 million a year with no subsidies and most of the schools on the list are break even at best and would lose money without being subsidized.

College sports needs to end this Socialism and not have schools that are subsidized.


101 posted on 03/26/2014 4:05:15 PM PDT by Oliviaforever
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To: Vermont Lt

Good. If they do not make money, the programs should be abolished.


102 posted on 03/26/2014 4:11:52 PM PDT by Oliviaforever
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To: EQAndyBuzz

Instead, you’ll either see a rise of sports clubs not limited by the age 20 enrollment in the NFL or the NFL pushed to lower its admittance to age 18 to take the athletes out of high school.


103 posted on 03/26/2014 4:15:43 PM PDT by tbw2
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To: discostu

But real students don’t bring in millions of dollars of revenue. The athletes aren’t taking up space, they’re funding parts of the school...

If that is their role, why continue the fiction that they are real students and amateur players?


104 posted on 03/26/2014 4:25:07 PM PDT by Hepsabeth
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To: vette6387

“As far as I am concerned, “college athletics” has no place in an institution of higher learning.”

Even though I’m a college football and basketball fan, you’re right. Major college teams have nothing to with education and are there just to make money.


105 posted on 03/26/2014 4:38:22 PM PDT by Lou Budvis
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To: AU72

Why should only college athletes be allowed to organize?

How about college students in Econ-101? They should be allowed to organize, too...


106 posted on 03/26/2014 6:05:52 PM PDT by sergeantdave
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To: kjam22

In reference to the post you responded too, I believe this ruling will force a lot of minority athletes out of the NCAA. The scholarships will become income, however not to the athlete but the parents. I would not be bold in saying that a very large number of people with college attending kids still claim them as dependents. For example, a kid gets a scholarship to Notre Dame, Boston College, or Stanford. That scholarship is worth the full tuition, about $60,000. Some minority family making $40,000 a year will have to pay taxes like they made $100,000. Federal taxes may gobble up 75% of what they make, since the $60,000 scholarship provides zero actual income, cash that is. These unionized athletes might be economically restricted to Community Colleges, where the scholarship value would be significantly less.


107 posted on 03/26/2014 6:12:30 PM PDT by gusty
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To: Oliviaforever

“The athletes make nothing, while all the others make millions or billions.”


So they shouldn’t play sports. The last I heard it was a choice. If they don’t like the rules they shouldn’t play the “game”.

.


108 posted on 03/26/2014 6:21:05 PM PDT by Mears
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To: AU72

the underling who made that asinine statement has no more authority on the subject than I do.


109 posted on 03/26/2014 6:26:26 PM PDT by terycarl (common sense prevails over all else)
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To: ExTxMarine

“Hell, two of my daughters are going to junior colleges which do not have ANY sports and one is going to start at Abilene Christian University next fall - sports is an after thought at that school.”

I have a very good friend and former employee who went to Abilene Christian. As for the value of intercollegiate team sports, we used to have physical ed in High School for the purposes you state. I took PE in College because it made me feel better and do a better job studying, but you can teach the values that team sports are supposed to provide in other ways. I still don’t see any reason for intercollegiate athletics from a students’ point of view. The money that goes into this area in universities and colleges takes from the hard core academics in much the same way that professional sports franchises want the taxpayers to bankroll their facilities then when they are not good enough, they move their teams and leave the taxpayers holding the financial bag for many, many years. Big businesses all want the government to give them all sorts of breaks and incentives so that they can make even more money than otherwise would be the case if they had to foot the bill for their facilities. Intercollegiate as well as Professional Athletics are the same kinds of businesses, feeding at the public trough while they are laughing all the way to the bank.


110 posted on 03/26/2014 6:53:31 PM PDT by vette6387
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To: AU72

So scholarships will be treated as income? Imagine the income tax on a full ride to Stanford or Harvard.


111 posted on 03/26/2014 7:19:35 PM PDT by Mike Darancette (Do The Math)
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To: Mike Darancette

It would add $60,000 of non-cash income. Unlike winning a $60,000 car in a raffle, you cannot sell a scholarship to pay the tax. You would have to come up with the money from somewhere else. It would push someone making $19.71 an hour into a tax bracket of someone making over $100,000 a year.


112 posted on 03/26/2014 7:24:52 PM PDT by gusty
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To: TexasCajun
What about the Band Members? ...the Debate Team?

If athletic scholarships are considered salary what about academic scholarships?

113 posted on 03/26/2014 7:24:55 PM PDT by Mike Darancette (Do The Math)
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To: Mike Darancette
It isn't as of now. However if these players are successful in unionizing and getting compensation for playing collegiate sports, then everything they receive will become income. If they stay just students participating in an extracurricular activity, then the status quo remains.
114 posted on 03/26/2014 7:28:42 PM PDT by gusty
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To: gusty

The only way the athletic scholarship would not be income that is taxable under this proposed new system, would be if the athletes come to the school just to play their sport, and do not attend any classes. They would be considered entertainment for the real student body, like a house band in the student center on Saturday nights.


115 posted on 03/26/2014 7:33:33 PM PDT by gusty
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To: Oliviaforever
Good move for the athletes.

The students will have to take loans to pay income taxes on their scholarships.

116 posted on 03/26/2014 7:34:20 PM PDT by Mike Darancette (Do The Math)
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To: AU72

How will a walk on be compensated?


117 posted on 03/26/2014 7:36:10 PM PDT by Mike Darancette (Do The Math)
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To: Mike Darancette

He will probably treated as a “scab” by his teammates. He will have to endure four solitary years or be forced to leave the team. Remember, the walk on will be taking away a union members job, so he will be treated accordingly. I picture an overlooked kid showing up for tryouts, making the team, winning a starting spot, and a giant blow up rat will make an appearance on the practice field by the end of the week.


118 posted on 03/26/2014 7:42:45 PM PDT by gusty
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To: AU72

Good. The athletes can exchange their worthless hotel management degrees for real paychecks.

These “non-profit” colleges make big money off of these unpaid kids who are little more than cannon fodder.


119 posted on 03/26/2014 7:42:58 PM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas ( Isaiah 22:22, Matthew 16:19, Revelation 3:7)
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To: St_Thomas_Aquinas

Instead of cannon fodder for the school, they can become cannon fodder to the IRS, when they have to pay taxes on the $240,000 of scholarship they received in the four years they played and practiced, $300,000 for the red shirted. Me, and I played Div I athletics, would rather be cannon fodder to the university


120 posted on 03/26/2014 7:47:49 PM PDT by gusty
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