(09-29-2021 11:03 AM)Tribe2011 Wrote:  The NLRB this morning announced that it was effectively classifying student athletes as employees. This is a really big deal that will allow athletes to unionize and also might mandate they receive workers comp, among other things. Important progress that should have happened a long time ago.

It also is going to make sports like football, with a massive roster and a ton of injuries, become much more expensive to operate. More evidence that it has consistently been shortsighted for WM to continue to make football its flagship sport; its going to be untenable for a lot of schools to operate football programs at the FCS level and the sport is going to change drastically.

https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-...-status-of

If an athlete at W&M gets hurt, say tears an ACL, while practicing or playing their sport, who currently pays for that medical treatment? I honestly don't know. In my experience, the student-athlete's personal health insurance covered it, although rehabbing the injury at the school with the school trainers was common practice. I don't know if that is how it works now. If the athletes are going to be considered employees and subject to the same workers' comp laws of other employees in Va and the school's workers comp carrier pays for this medical treatment (and all necessary future medical treatment), then yes I think football at our level will likely go away, as will every other sport at W&M. Also, once students who happen to play sports that do not generate enough revenue to pay for themselves (ie every sport offered at W&M) are considered employees of the school, I suspect the money that currently pays for their existence dries up significantly.