No Parking on the Dance Floor. the Golf Course. No Standing ... For Now.

In binary terms, Kain Colter and the College Athletic Players Association "lost" yesterday, when the National Labor Relations Board declined to certify the petitioning Northwestern University football players as a union. But the NLRB didn't score on CAPA; they merely punted on the issue.

In the legal game, understanding the "why's" behind the ruling matter. We're seeing incremental progress in action here...

Tom Farrey, ESPN Staff Writer:

"In the decision, the Board held that asserting jurisdiction would not promote labor stability due to the nature and structure of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)," the NLRB wrote in its decision.

"By statute the Board does not have jurisdiction over state-run colleges and universities, which constitute 108 of the roughly 125 FBS teams.

"In addition, every school in the Big Ten, except Northwestern, is a state-run institution. As the NCAA and conference maintain substantial control over individual teams, the Board held that asserting jurisdiction over a single team would not promote stability in labor relations across the league. This decision is narrowly focused to apply only to the players in this case and does not preclude reconsideration of this issue in the future."

A ruling in support of the CAPA would have affected all private schools with football programs in the NCAA's top tier, as the NLRB governs the relationships between private business and employees. There are 17 of these universities: Baylor, Boston College, BYU, Duke, Miami, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Rice, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tulane, Tulsa, USC, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.

Colter told Outside the Lines that he is "disappointed" but does not consider the effort a failure, given the reforms that the CAPA effort helped catalyze within college sports.

"It's definitely not a loss," he said. "Since we started this movement, a lot of positive changes have come from this -- the introduction of four-year scholarships, increased stipends, maybe better medical coverage, the lifting of food restrictions. A lot of the things that we've been fighting for have been adopted. But there is a lot of room to go."

Teamwork + Brainwork + Perseverance = Change.

In Northwestern's final brief before the NLRB last July, university lawyers argued that providing athletes with the right to collectively bargain "would create chaos in college athletics." They predicted harm to the academic freedom of universities to draw up educational requirements as they see fit, as well as other "adverse consequences" -- writing that since only football players were asking to be treated as employees, the universities might have to reduce support for other male sports while enhancing support for females due to Title IX requirements.
...
In their final brief before the NLRB last July, CAPA lawyers said that speculation about the impact of a decision in its favor provides no grounds to deny the players the rights they claim under federal labor law.

"Northwestern and its (allies) have enormous self-interests in maintaining the system whereby the universities, coaches and athletic directors, the NCAA, and others -- who do not risk concussion and other injury -- share multi-millions in revenue generated by the players' labor," they wrote. "Players want to be heard by those who control their working conditions, and as employees they have the right to bargain over the terms and conditions under which they work, even if recognition of that right is inconvenient for, or philosophically disagreeable to, or adverse to the economic interests of their employer."
...
Colter said that he and Ramogi Huma, CAPA president and a former UCLA linebacker, have not charted next steps but will continue to advocate for opportunities to help athletes.

"Me and Ramogi and a bunch of other people saw (the NLRB decision) going differently," Colter said, "but this isn't the end. This isn't going to stop us from pushing for college athlete rights. That will eventually come. If it's not going to happen this way, we'll get it another way."

Something about the door being closed, God knows,
but there's always the hope for an open window or two.
( Go 'Cats. )