On 8 February 2022, the National College Players Association, an advocacy group for college athletes, filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Pacific-12 Conference (PAC-12), the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Southern California of misclassifying the athletes and interfering with the athletes’ rights to discuss compensation and working conditions (the NCAA Charge). The unfair labor practice charge came after Jennifer A. Abruzzo, general counsel of the NLRB, issued Memorandum GC 21-08 (GC 21-08) on 29 September 2021, to the regional field offices signaling significant changes to the interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) as it relates to “Players at Academic Institutions” (Players at Academic Institutions). In sum, GC 21-08 provides updated guidance regarding the NLRB’s position that certain Players at Academic Institutions are employees under the NLRA. GC 21-08 set the perfect blueprint for the advocacy group to file the NCAA Charge with the NLRB.
As explained further below, GC 21-08 expressly rejects the term “student-athletes” as a per-se violation of Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA and instead endorses the use of the term “Players at Academic Institutions.” Additionally, GC 21-08 signals an expansive interpretation of protected activity under Section 7 of the NLRA, to include activism...
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