ECONOMIC issue- NCAA Athletes as Workers Flashcards
(18 cards)
What are some of the main ways that change happens in sport and broader cultures?
Policies, protests, ways to intervene, more power than just voting?
What’s the set up of US sport?
D1- big time sport/ competition eg: LSU Tigers- have a 28 million football facility
D2-
D3- much smaller
What is the NCAA?
The National Collegiate Athletic Association
Big time sports players- Michigan football vs Washington- pre game kick off with 9,000 people.
What is the NCAA’s mission?
‘We honour the American linkage of intercollegiate athletics and academics, and the responsibility to ensure it contributes to the national mission of higher education’
=amateur? Does it feel/ look amateur?
How much revenue did the NCAA make in 2021?
Earned 1.15 bn dollars in revenue in 2021.
What is the history of university sport in the US?
- Late 19th century and early 20th century=no governing bodies or institutional control.
Entering the 20th century= a shift from student ran to institutional ran.
What was a turning point in the history of US athletics?
The development of the term ‘student athlete’ during the 1950’s to dismiss workers compensation claims (Staurowsky, 2014)- if your a student its not a job.
Adaption of student scholarships in 1956, can be rescinded and might not be a full scholarship.
The rise of big time college, American football and sponsorships.
How to define workers?
(Lenon, 2024)
Worker as ‘someone who sells their Labour for compensation’
Their labour then contributes to the production of capital (profits)
What are some key factors that class you as a worker?
Call
Sadies
Bull
Shit
The right to…
- Fair compensation
- Freedom to sell your labour
- The right to collectively bargain
- The right to strike
What do Sack and Staurowsky (1998) state about sport as employment?
The distinguishing factor is the presence of constraints…
The control of material/ resources, rewards and punishment for performance and CONTROL over the structure of their day= work?
What does Lennon (2024) state in contradiction to the NCAA?
- Could argue that NCAA athletes are not fairly compensated, they GIVE and don’t sell their labour.
-The NCAA doesn’t recognise college athletes rights to bargain eg: in 2014 the North Western American Football team tried to unionise.
What is the general life of an NCAA athlete?
NCAA rules limit players to 20 hours per week, or four hours per day.
Loopholes= travel, conditioning, rehabilitation- don’t count.
What was the 2014 North Western American Football Lawsuit?
Players were doing 60 hours a week during pre-season.
Some athletes had to look at changing their courses as it conflicted with practice times
(Cooper and Cooper, 2015)
What are the main ways an athlete can profit?
Their Name, Image and Likeness
July, 1st, 2021
NIL refers to the rights of college athletes to control and profit from their name, image and likeness. (NCAA ruling)
Athletes can profit of this: autographs, commercials, social media, sponsorship.
Allowed women athletes to make money, specifically through social media.
Give an example of a female athlete who has profited off social media and their NIL?
Caitlin Clark
Has made 3 million dollars through deals with Nike and Gatorade
Professional basketball player
What does seeing athletes as workers also mean?
A need to address inequalities of labour= UNEQUAL work environments.
Big differences between men and women, and in the case of Black athletes= racism and sexism.
Academic Success according NCAA? (Carter-Francique et al, 2015)
Need to look at….
Additional adjustment challenges of a student-athlete
Balancing athletic an academic success, dealing with isolation being a student athlete, managing athletic success, dealing w/ potential injury, negotiating relationships w/ coaches, trainers, classmates, teammates, larger community.
What are some of the main, prevalent questions surrounding NCAA athletes?
Would you describe the benefits NCAA athletes receive as fair compensation?
Why or why not?
How might the demands of big-time sport, and the NIL deal impact how student athletes navigate their lives and try to complete their degrees?
What are the challenges of seeing any athletes as workers/laborers?
What are the ramifications for doing so?
