Making the Case for CFBPA Representation
Making the Case for CFBPA Representation
Three Reasons Why College Football Players Should Choose Us
This is a free online newsletter for Jason Stahl, Executive Director of the College Football Players Association (CFBPA). If you are a past, present or future college football player, I ask that you consider becoming a member of the CFBPA. For a short YouTube introduction on the CFBPA, click here. Members of the general public who would like to support the CFBPA can donate at this link or volunteer at this link.
With the college football season now behind us, there has been an avalanche of news which is seemingly quickening the pace to massive change within college athletics. The most consequential of these stories just dropped yesterday as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office declared that Dartmouth men’s basketball players are employees of the school with the right to unionize and collectively bargain. I wrote approvingly at this newsletter when players declared intent to unionize. Since then, there have been administrative hearings which led to Monday’s outcome. Now, the players will hold an official vote on the unionization question followed by an appeals process by the university as it seeks to deny players the right to unionize.
It is hard to understate the significance of this ruling for the future of college athletics should it be upheld and should the players vote for their union. Dartmouth men’s basketball is a small NCAA Division I program that doesn’t offer athletic scholarships. If the ruling is upheld, and if players officially unionize and collectively bargain over the terms and conditions of their employment, this means mammoth changes for all of college sports no matter the school. Given this, it is imperative that all college athletes begin to think about what this means for their work lives. For college football players, we at the CFBPA think that gaining employee status without also engaging in collective bargaining doesn’t make sense. College football players have unique health and safety concerns and — at the highest level of play — generate billions in revenue. As such, college football players need to follow the route of the Dartmouth men’s basketball team and begin making their move now to get organized.
So, the question college football players should be asking is not, “Do we need representation?” but rather “Who will represent us?” Players must choose their representation just like the Dartmouth men’s basketball players did and not have it chosen for them by college sports administrators — otherwise, you just have a fake players association which I’ve written about before. Today, then, I want to outline three reasons why we hope college football players choose us to represent them.
First, for those helping build the CFBPA, this is a cause we care deeply about. Because of this, we believe college football players should trust us to represent them. We are athlete advocates in the original meaning of the phrase in that we are trying to build a movement for positive change in college athletics, not build a business to make a buck. Many of us have sacrificed in our personal and work lives because of our advocacy work. As many reading this newsletter know, I founded the CFBPA after unexpectedly suffering consequences for my advocacy for football players at the University of Minnesota. Other members of our Board of Directors — like our President Roxanne McCray and our Vice President Maddie Salamone — have also sacrificed for their advocacy work on behalf of athletes. Likewise, members of our Alumni Member Leadership Committee of former players see what we’re doing as movement-building in the old civil rights mode. Members of this committee like Troy Reddick and Kassidy Woods have suffered consequences for their past whistle-blowing regarding the harsh realities of college football. Finally, members of our board of advisors also come with the right values. The academics on our board of advisors in particular have been working on college athletics and labor issues for decades. We are proud to add two more such voices to this growing list: Erin Hatton and Victoria Jackson. We hope to be able to marshal the work of all the academics on our board of advisors in the coming year and to connect that work to the everyday lives of college football players.
Secondly, players should want us to represent them because the bulk of our platform reflects the values of the people who are helping build this institution. I myself became an athlete advocate out of concern for the health, safety and welfare of college football players. The people I brought into help build the institution also hold these values at their core. This is why our Platform for Change started with three health, safety welfare planks and contains 5 of 7 planks overall which speak to these issues. Collective bargaining gives players the right to address all of the concerns which are central to their workplace and, for college football players, the health of their bodies and brains are at the top of the list.
Finally, to the extent that we care about money, we only care about getting more of it in the pockets of the players whose labor makes the games happen. The players are the game and deserve to be fairly and justly compensated for their labor. Players generate billions and billions of dollars every year from regular season and postseason games and they deserve to share in that wealth as all other players do in other sports which generate that type of wealth. We are building the CFBPA more like a traditional nonprofit rather than a labor organization. This is why we will continue to solicit donations from the general public who believe in this cause and why we will continue to ask former college football players to become part of this institution as Alumni Members and Lifetime Members. This financial base will allow us to keep Current Player Member dues at $0 thus leaving current players and their families with more money in their pockets.
If you are a past, present or future college football player and agree with this vision, join the CFBPA today and help us build towards the much-needed representation that players need at your current program or alma mater.