Student-athletes in the state of Ohio will not be allowed to be viewed as employees of their respective universities if some politicians in the state have their say about it. A proposal to the state’s budget review submitted Monday would prevent student-athletes from being considered employees if the proposal is passed. This is far from a certainty, but it is also a reminder that the influence from the recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago has opened eyes around the country, and not just those of football players and university officials.
“I think this is a statement of what we all thought is obvious, and that is athletes are not employees of their university,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Ron Amstutz, a Wooster Republican, according to Cleveland.com.
It will be interesting to see if this proposal passes in the state of Ohio. We knew the college players union conversation was going to develop (or devolve) in to a political game, and now it has taken that next step in becoming a political hot button issue. If Ohio passes this proposal, similar proposals in other states surely will not be far behind as the battle continues to rage.
Ohio is a good state to test these waters as well, considering the number of division one programs within the borders. In addition to Ohio State and Cincinnati, Ohio is home FBS programs at Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami, Ohio, and Toledo. And we have not even mentioned the FCS programs (Youngstown State) and other programs that play division one basketball (Dayton).
As a reminder, the ruling made by the NLRB currently only pertains to private institutions, but it opens the door for progress at public institutions if Northwestern football players succeed in forming the first recognized union of collegiate players.