College Athlete Pay Complaints Tee Up Case for U.S. Labor Board

An advocacy group for college athletes is asking the federal labor board to rule that student players are employees, setting up a battle over the future of big-money athletics on campuses.

In filing unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board Tuesday, the National College Players Association accused a quartet of heavy-hitters in collegiate athletics of misclassifying athletes and suppressing their right to speak out about compensation and working conditions. The charges were filed against the National Collegiate Athletic Association, a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletes, along with the Pacific-12 Conference, the University of California-Los Angeles, and ...