Big East commissioner Val Ackerman is wary of the major changes coming to college sports

[huskymedic]

Apparently, this is only relevant to Private schools at the moment, so it might not be as impactful as previously thought.

Insightful interview w/ BE Commissioner Val Ackerman on the subject @ hand (obviously outside of UConn all “her” schools are private institutions):

 

[Stew Crew]

I was wondering something the other day. If players unionize and are deemed employees, would they fall under typical labor laws? For example, if a football player is seriously injured, is that an OSHA reportable incident? Could a team get shut down for multiple serious injuries?

Taking it to the extreme, would there be defined job descriptions for each position? Would Karaban, for example, be prohibited from playing the 5 because that is Clingan's and Johnson's job? Seems far fetched, but I supervised union employees for a few years. Some of the work rules were unbelievable.

 

[AllHusky]

I was wondering something the other day. If players unionize and are deemed employees, would they fall under typical labor laws? For example, if a football player is seriously injured, is that an OSHA reportable incident? Could a team get shut down for multiple serious injuries?

Taking it to the extreme, would there be defined job descriptions for each position? Would Karaban, for example, be prohibited from playing the 5 because that is Clingan's and Johnson's job? Seems far fetched, but I supervised union employees for a few years. Some of the work rules were unbelievable.

Frightening, but not implausible scenario!! My Father in Law worked in NYC, installed all manner of Interior Fashion harrdware. Union Electrician had to be on sight for him to plug in a drill. I questioned that, he swore to it.

More likely would be limitations on practice and types of physical activity, similar to what he NCAA does, but probably a few steps futher. Would entail more layers to the Administrative/oversight onion.

 

[slepers]

Can a player be let go at any time if their contract includes performance standards?

 

[Greedo]

I was wondering something the other day. If players unionize and are deemed employees, would they fall under typical labor laws? For example, if a football player is seriously injured, is that an OSHA reportable incident? Could a team get shut down for multiple serious injuries?

Taking it to the extreme, would there be defined job descriptions for each position? Would Karaban, for example, be prohibited from playing the 5 because that is Clingan's and Johnson's job? Seems far fetched, but I supervised union employees for a few years. Some of the work rules were unbelievable.

The major pro sports leagues in the U.S. all have players unions. I would imagine it would mirror them to some extent - that it's normal for injuries to occur, etc.

 

[Scrutineer]

Can a player be let go at any time if their contract includes performance standards?

Now that would make things very interesting, but why not? If you're being guaranteed pay and benefits why shouldn't you be able to be dismissed for failing to hold up your end?

That's why I have hope that cooler heads will prevail, but only a little hope because of the amount of money involved.

 

[prankster]

I was wondering something the other day. If players unionize and are deemed employees, would they fall under typical labor laws? For example, if a football player is seriously injured, is that an OSHA reportable incident? Could a team get shut down for multiple serious injuries?

Taking it to the extreme, would there be defined job descriptions for each position? Would Karaban, for example, be prohibited from playing the 5 because that is Clingan's and Johnson's job? Seems far fetched, but I supervised union employees for a few years. Some of the work rules were unbelievable.

IDK if your concerns are appropriate when one weighs relevant comparison with unionized professional athletes.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

There has to be a single union to negotiate with the schools. That would settle down the current legal chaos.

 

[Stew Crew]

The major pro sports leagues in the U.S. all have players unions. I would imagine it would mirror them to some extent - that it's normal for injuries to occur, etc.

A couple of major differences:

1. Many professional sports leagues have some sort of antitrust exemption, so they operate under different rules.

2. Every league has their own players union (NFLPA is part of AFL-CIO but operates pretty much independently and is exclusive to NFL players). In the Dartmouth case, they chose an established union that represents other Dartmouth employees.

I'm not saying anything like this will happen but it an interesting possibility. You have to think that at some point, some overzealous local union president tries to leverage a university by threatening to shut down its sports program in order to benefit the larger union population.

 

[prankster]

Val should probably be less concerned about a player's union than about the prospect of UConn moving to a Pm conference.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I was wondering something the other day. If players unionize and are deemed employees, would they fall under typical labor laws? For example, if a football player is seriously injured, is that an OSHA reportable incident? Could a team get shut down for multiple serious injuries?

Taking it to the extreme, would there be defined job descriptions for each position? Would Karaban, for example, be prohibited from playing the 5 because that is Clingan's and Johnson's job? Seems far fetched, but I supervised union employees for a few years. Some of the work rules were unbelievable.

The major pro sports leagues in the U.S. all have players unions. I would imagine it would mirror them to some extent - that it's normal for injuries to occur, etc.

Mrs. Diesel worked as a home infusion nurse for a bit and we lived near one of Dr. Andrew's medical facilities. All the pro athletes from US teams who went through there fell under worker's comp.

 

[businesslawyer]

I was wondering something the other day. If players unionize and are deemed employees, would they fall under typical labor laws? For example, if a football player is seriously injured, is that an OSHA reportable incident? Could a team get shut down for multiple serious injuries?

Taking it to the extreme, would there be defined job descriptions for each position? Would Karaban, for example, be prohibited from playing the 5 because that is Clingan's and Johnson's job? Seems far fetched, but I supervised union employees for a few years. Some of the work rules were unbelievable.

The NBA is unionized. Have you not noticed that these aren't issues there?

 

[Ha Who]

Val should probably be less concerned about a player's union than about the prospect of UConn moving to a Pm conference.

I believe she is well-versed in rule number one