Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) warned on Thursday that unionization of college athletes would hurt the country’s secondary education system and destroy college sports.
In a recent decision, the National Labor Relations Board classified college athletes as employees of the colleges they play for, which could lead to unionization of student athletes.
“Our message is that the opinion of one regional director of the National Labor Relations Board is not the opinion of the entire federal government,” Alexander said. “While there may be some issues with intercollegiate athletics, the unionization of intercollegiate athletics is not the solution to the problem. The College Board estimates that a college degree adds $1 million to your earnings during a lifetime, so the idea that student athletes do not receive anything in return for their playing a sport is financially wrong.”
Alexander and Burr, who were both collegiate athletes, delivered their remarks on the Senate floor.
“Although the idea of unionizing might sound good to a very small number of student athletes considering doing so, it is important we think of the 99 percent of student-athletes who never reach the professional levels of their respective sports and will come to value the education – when they become professionals in other fields – they received while competing for their colleges or universities,” Burr said. “The value of that education – more than any temporary benefit they might receive while collectively bargaining – will bring a lifetime of higher earnings in their profession but also a respect for the life lessons they received while playing sports for their schools. I hope the NLRB’s regional office’s decision does not threaten that for these students.”
The senators also raised questions about how unionization would impact other student groups and smaller schools.
“On the face of it, it creates a great inequity between public and private schools, where we have a governing body that tries to make this process as equitable as it can,” Burr said. “But let me make this point: If you want to drive the rest of the schools out of major sports, then do this. Only 10 percent of our nation’s athletic programs make money. That means 90 percent of them lose in the athletic department. But for the quality of life of all students, not just athletes, they continue and their alumni continue to subsidize it.”
Alexander said unionization would make athletic programs much more expensive, which could have a negative impact on minor sports.