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 ...