During a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA) questioned Daniel L. Nash, a shareholder at Littler, about the reclassification of student-athletes.
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00:00Under Rule Committee Rule 9, we will now question witnesses under the five-minute rule.
00:06I will recognize myself for five minutes.
00:10Mrs. Wynn, you said in your written testimony that as former co-chair of Division I Student Athletic Advisory Committee,
00:16you had the opportunity to speak with hundreds of student-athletes to express fears about what employment status could mean for them
00:22and the future of college sports.
00:24What were some of the top concerns you heard from your peers?
00:27Thank you for the question.
00:31The top concern from the student-athletes I've spoken to is the ongoing threat of cutting athletic opportunity
00:38for thousands of student-athletes to pay for the student-athletes that generate the most revenue,
00:44which would ultimately create an uneven playing field between the athletes.
00:49Another fear is the potential decline in the prioritization of academics.
00:57Sorry.
00:58Most student-athletes who play in college do not go on to play professionally and choose their schools to pursue academics.
01:05We fear becoming employees would put a substantial emphasis on job security through athletic performance
01:11over the current academic eligibility-centric model.
01:16Mr. Nash, like other college students, student-athletes must satisfy certain academic standards to gain admission to their universities
01:24and to participate in extracurricular activities, including their sport.
01:29If student-athletes are deemed to be employees under the National Labor Relations Act,
01:35could grade point averages or course credit requirements become subjects of collective bargaining?
01:42Thank you, Chairman Allen.
01:44We don't know the answer to that, and nor do the advocates of converting student-athletes to employees
01:53and attempting to have collective bargaining.
01:56It is certainly conceivable that the academic rules that apply to student-athletes
02:03and how they're enforced and other rules, other rules related to their education
02:09and the academic environment would be subjects of bargaining.
02:12Those are things that are just simply not present in the professional sports leagues.
02:17Could this unionization undermine academic standards?
02:21In other words, the young people would prioritize their work responsibilities over actually getting an education
02:29when less than 2% of these young people go on to play in professional sports?
02:33I think the reality of that is probably obvious, right?
02:38I think almost certainly if we're talking about what is essentially making the student-athletes on these sports as professionals,
02:47that's going to be the focus, not academics.
02:51Right. Thank you.
02:53Ms. McWilliams-Parker, fewer than 2% of NCAA student-athletes turn professional in their respective sports,
03:00as I mentioned earlier.
03:01What impact would employee status have on ensuring these college athletes can continue to focus first and foremost on being students
03:10and on their academic success to make sure that they have successful careers after college?
03:17Look, this conversation about, particularly for our HBCUs and our smaller institutions,
03:24I mean, I'm highly concerned about employment because the fact of the matter,
03:29our institutions were built in this country to give us an education.
03:33Athletics is an ancillary opportunity to allow our students to engage way beyond just getting their degree.
03:39Making them employees or changing that status, it really changes the opportunities that we get to create at our institutions
03:45and our smaller schools, being able to give them the resources that they need for academic support,
03:51for travel, for uniforms, all those things that are important and necessary,
03:56especially for students that are first-generational students.
03:59So I hope we never lose the focus of why education was established in this country in the first place.
04:06Athletics has just been the benefit that we all have.
04:09It's a privilege to be able to be a college student-athlete,
04:12and I hope we don't take that away from them.
04:15Yes, so many young people have been able to get their education
04:18and also participate in their sport of choice on the field
04:25and then go on to very successful careers.
04:32And whatever we do as members of Congress, we want to keep that as the first priority.
04:39And I think that's it behind the scenes here.
04:44We're putting other things first, like collective bargaining, unionization,
04:50and employee status, and all these other things.
04:54And I think we've got to work to make sure that academics is priority one.