Travis Hunter’s historic two-way Heisman win defies early season odds-makers
University of Colorado Boulder superstar Travis Hunter officially has bragging rights over his larger-than-life head coach, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders. On Saturday, Dec. 14, Hunter won the Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to College Football’s best player, an achievement Coach Prime missed out on during his hall-of-fame career.
He thanked and hugged his family, his coach, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and even rapper Lil Wayne on his way to the podium.
Hunter is the first player to win the award while playing on both offense and defense in every game of the season. The wide receiver and cornerback logged over 1,400 snaps, more than any player in college football this season.
Along with being the first two-way player, Hunter is the first Heisman winner to start his career at a smaller FCS, or Football Championship Subdivision, school. He played one season for Sanders at Jackson State before following him to Colorado in 2023.
Hunter’s statistics during this season with the Buffaloes speak for themselves. He totaled four interceptions and only allowed a single touchdown pass on defense. On offense, he completed 92 catches for a total of 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Asked after the ceremony, Hunter was asked what advice he would give to kids who might look up to him.
“You grow up kinda fast, you know,” Hunter said. “There’s a lot of people that tell you, ‘You can’t do it,’ and I always tell people to keep your foot on the gas, no matter what. That means don’t let down, don’t be down on yourself, don’t let people tell you what you can’t do.”
When the season began, Hunter was a 75-1 underdog to win the award. It was the closest vote in 15 years, which highlighted some of the controversy with the final tally. Hunter beat out Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who rushed for nearly 2,500 yards and is just 133 yards away from Barry Sanders’ all-time college record.
Jeanty was disappointed with the result.
“Obviously, everything is earned,” Jeanty said. “But I just really felt like I should have walked away with the award. Kudos to Travis for winning, but yeah, it’s as simple as that.”
In April 2025, Hunter could be the number one overall pick in the NFL draft. Before that, he will play one more game with Coach Prime and his Colorado teammates. The Buffaloes play against Brigham Young University (BYU) in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.
Football, flags, fights: College rivalry week marred by post-game brawls
Rivalry week in college football turned into a series of fights on the field on Saturday, Nov. 30. The act of planting a flag was the root of many of these melees.
Michigan-Ohio State
After Michigan upset Ohio State 13-10 in their 120th meeting, the Wolverines planted their flag at midfield of Ohio Stadium, also known as The Horseshoe. Players from both teams got into a brawl leading to police getting involved and using pepper spray to break it up.
After five minutes, the fighting was over. Players and coaches on both sides were left bloodied.
The Big Ten fined Michigan and Ohio State $100,000 each. The league said both teams violated its sportsmanship policy and jeopardized the safety of participants and bystanders. However, no individual player would be disciplined.
“I don’t know all the details of it, but I know these guys are looking to put a flag on our field and our guys weren’t going to let that happen,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said in a post-game press conference. “I’ll find out exactly what happened. But this is our field and certainly we’re embarrassed of the fact that we lost the game, but there’s some prideful guys in this team that weren’t going to just let that happen.”
Ohio State later released a statement saying it will continue to examine and address post-game protocols.
Florida-Florida State
Over in Tallahassee, a scuffle broke out after Florida defensive end George Gumbs Jr. planted the Gators flag on Florida State’s Seminoles logo following a 31-11 win. Seminoles coach Mike Norvell could be seen on camera at one point snatching the flag from a Gators player.
Norvell said he spoke to Florida head coach Billy Napier after the game. Napier later told reporters there would be consequences for all involved.
“What happened there at the end of the game is not who we want to be as a program,” Napier said. “It’s embarrassing to me and it’s a distraction from a really well-played football game. I want to apologize on behalf of the entire organization just in terms of how we represented the university there. We shouldn’t have done that.”
NC State-North Carolina
After NC State’s 35-30 win over North Carolina in Chapel Hill, one Wolfpack player tried planting his team’s flag at midfield, but a group of Tar Heels would not allow that to happen.
A fight broke out and one North Carolina player tried to take the flag and throw it into the stands, which only added to the chaos.
This was Mack Brown’s final game as North Carolina’s head coach. Talking to reporters after the game, Brown called planting a flag a “disrespectful” move.
Arizona-Arizona State
In the Arizona-Arizona State game, the Sun Devils easily picked up the 49-7 win over the Wildcats. When an Arizona player, Montana Lemonious-Craig, picked up a trident at midfield that had been planted on his team’s logo by Arizona State player Jacob Rich Kongaika, a scuffle ensued.
Coincidentally, or not, Kongaika was an Arizona transfer.
Texas-Texas A&M
It was a different story at the end of the rivalry game between Texas and Texas A&M.
The Longhorns walked off with a 17-7 victory over the Aggies, their first in College Station since 2011. However, before actually walking off from Kyle Field, a group of Longhorns players started to converge at midfield.
Knowing what had happened earlier in the day elsewhere, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian ran to stop them from participating in any post-game celebration that could lead to trouble.
No flag was planted, but the coach’s motives were clear.
“I just watched Ohio State-Michigan get in a full-fledged brawl in my hotel room today, and I just didn’t think it was right,” Sarkisian said. “Rivalries are great, but there’s a way to win it with class. I just didn’t think that’s the right thing to do. We shouldn’t be on their logo, we shouldn’t be planting any flags on their logo, and I’d like to — whenever that day comes — get the same respect in return.
“We try to teach our players how to go about our business. We celebrate with one another,” Sarkisian continued. “It’s not about another team. It’s about what we do. There’s a way to win with class and i’m hopeful we can continue to learn how to do that.”
During the ESPN broadcast of the Texas-Texas A&M game, Sarkisian’s actions were applauded by the commentators.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, said the coach did a good job handling the situation, adding players can celebrate in other areas and not on the other’s team logo.
Seemingly harmless gesture a warning sign of a concussion in athletes
A common, seemingly innocuous gesture could be a sign of a concussion, and experts say recognizing it could be the key to reducing the number of concussions that go undiagnosed. It’s the quick head shake after a hard hit.
To better understand the movement, researchers with Mass General Brigham and the Concussion Legacy Foundation surveyed hundreds of high school, college and semi-pro athletes. They found most of the athletes were familiar with the action and have even experienced it themselves, often more than once.
In nearly 3 out of 4 cases, researchers found those who experienced SHAAKE got a concussion at that time. They also found the causes of SHAAKE are often common symptoms of concussion, like disorientation, confusion and changes to spatial perception. However, the head shake by itself is not considered a sign of concussion, leading many brain injuries to go undiagnosed.
The researchers behind the new study now say formal recognition of SHAAKE as a sign of a concussion could help identify up to a third of undiagnosed concussions.
In the study, the researchers pointed out a particularly nasty concussion seen in 2022 involving Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. They say the example highlights how adding SHAAKE to professional concussion protocol could make a big difference.
Tagovailoa fell to the ground after a hard hit. It was attributed to a previous back injury at first, but he later ended up being hospitalized with a concussion. The study’s authors said hospitalization may have been avoided if SHAAKE were part of the protocol.
In a press conference Tuesday, Oct. 22, the Dolphins announced Tagovailoa would be back at practice Wednesday, Oct. 23, with hopes of playing in the game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Oct. 27. Tagovailoa also said he would not wear a Guardian Cap, which is a protective helmet cover used as an extra layer of defense against concussions.
There are actually multiple helmet options that players can pick from that test just as effectively as wearing the guardian cap.
In a statement in response to this new study, the NFL’s chief medical officer said the league regularly reviews new research, adding, “Our concussion protocol, a conservative process developed from internationally accepted guidelines, is reviewed annually to ensure players are receiving care that reflects the most up-to-date medical consensus on the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of concussions.”
1 in 4 college applicants avoid certain states over politics
More than one-quarter of college applicants have ruled out schools due to the political climate in the states where the institutions are located, according to a new poll from the Art & Science Group. The findings highlighted how state policies on issues like abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and crime are increasingly influencing students’ higher education choices.
The poll found that 28% of prospective students excluded certain schools based on the political, legal or policy environment in their respective states. Two-thirds of those students made these decisions early in the search process. The study revealed that while both liberal and conservative students are avoiding colleges in specific states, their reasons vary significantly.
For liberal students, the big issues are states with conservative policies on abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. Meanwhile, conservative students are avoiding schools in states they feel are too lenient on crime, social issues or identity politics.
AP Images
According to the poll, Texas and Florida top the list as the most frequently excluded state for college applications from liberal students. While conservative students are looking to stay out of California and New York, each ruled out by 15% or more of prospects.
This trend comes as states grapple with contentious political issues, especially in the wake of the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade and ongoing debates about transgender rights.
As the U.S. becomes increasingly polarized, political divisions are now influencing major life decisions, including where young adults choose to pursue higher education. Colleges and universities may face growing challenges in attracting students as state politics play a larger role in the decision-making process.
Nike rehires 1988 intern as next CEO. Here are Elliott Hill’s first hurdles.
Nike’s new CEO has a lot of ground to make up. On Thursday, Sept. 19, the company announced the sudden retirement of four-year CEO John Donahoe, while Elliott Hill will be returning from retirement to lead the company.
Hill last led commercial and marketing operations for Nike and the Jordan brand in 2020. He spent 32 years with the company, from intern to now-incoming CEO. He starts the job on Oct. 14.
Nike complimented Donahoe for leading the company through the pandemic, but in a lot of areas, Nike has been lapped by competitors under Donahoe’s reign. In the past year alone, Nike’s stock has fallen as much as 42% off its 52-week peak.
Donahoe’s resume includes CEO of eBay and software company ServiceNow. But during his time at Nike, analysts say his focus was too much on selling directly to consumers and not enough on providing them with new, innovative products to buy.
His marketing approach appears to have also fallen flat in the age of social media.
“Our experience has been when we launch these big moments in sport, we then cascade them down to consumers all over the world,” Donahoe said in April.
Yes, Nike has the record-breaking marathon shoe, the Alphafly 3. But that success didn’t necessarily cascade down. Nike’s often losing the race in consumer running shoes to cult running brands Hoka and On.
It’s not just a Nike problem. There’s real momentum behind smaller brands with spot-on marketing. Take Vuori, the athletic fashion brand stealing market share from lululemon. The brand partnered with more than 400 college athletes last year; most notably, LSU gymnast and social media sensation Livvy Dunne.
“If you think about it, before social media, athletes needed Nike to build their brand. Pause for a moment on that one,” Hill said in an interview last year. “So athletes wanted to be a part of Nike because Nike would help showcase them and build their brand. Today, they want Nike; they don’t have to have Nike. They can build their brand through social media and whatnot.”
Nike hopes the re-hiring of Hill will kick brand excitement into another gear. Who better than someone who’s been digging into the brand’s marketing since he was an Ohio University graduate student in the ’80s?
“I take a sports marketing class and do a paper on Nike, literally, just by chance,” Hill said of his graduate school days. “I love the brand, I love the product, and I write this paper on Nike about their evolution of their marketing funds. They started doing athletes first and then print and started to move into some TV.
“I did this paper and by chance, a month later, someone from Nike by name of Tim Joyce speaks at the university. And I went up to him after I just said, ‘Hey, I want to work for Nike.’ He said if you want to work for Nike, meet me at this cafe. I put on my suit and met him. There’s a whole story about that, but I bothered him for about six months until he finally hired me.”
Nike’s stock surged 10% when the company announced the 1988 intern was taking the company’s top job.
Reports: Big 12 exploring selling name rights to title sponsor
People are all familiar with college football bowl games having sponsors — like the Allstate Sugar Bowl or the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. Now, reports indicate a naming rights partnership might be on the way not for another game, but for the Big 12 conference.
This would be the first of ideal of its kind and reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Reports say the conference would drop “Big” from its name and keep the “12,” and with the Allstate insurance company being the current frontrunner as a potential sponsor, the conference could end up being called “the Allstate 12” conference.
Talks are ongoing, as this upcoming season, the Big 12 will see more teams joining the conference — creating a 16-member league.
Sources tell multiple outlets that the league is also considering an $800 million to $1 billion investment from Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners for a 15% to 20% stake. The investment would benefit the 16 conference members directly and provide access to CVC’s investment services and clients.
CVC, a global private equity firm managing over $200 billion, recently presented its proposal at the Big 12 spring meetings in Dallas.
Sources: The Big 12 is exploring selling its naming right to a title sponsor, with potential revenue being hundreds of millions over the course of the deal. It would be one of the largest commercial deals in collegiate athletics history. (Not including media rights.) pic.twitter.com/bpb54ilic8
Currently, Big 12 teams each earn $31.7 million annually from a media rights deal with Fox and ESPN that extends until 2031. Combined with the potential private equity investment, these revenues could position the Big 12 much closer to the Big Ten’s earnings, a source familiar with the proposal said.
The Big Ten sets the standard, with its schools expected to make about $75 million each per year following a new media rights agreement with Fox, CBS and NBC.
NCAA agrees to deal to allow schools to directly pay players
In a historic move for college sports, the NCAA agrees to a deal that would allow schools to directly pay their players. And a group of graduates walk out of Harvard’s commencement after 13 students are barred from the ceremony. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Friday, May 24, 2024.
NCAA agrees to deal to allow schools to directly pay players
A big change is on the horizon for college sports after the NCAA and its five power conferences have agreed to allow schools to pay student-athletes directly for the first time.
The agreement, disclosed on Thursday, May 23, is part of a multi-billion dollar settlement concerning three antitrust cases accusing the NCAA of restricting compensation and benefits to college players. The NCAA has denied any wrongdoing.
The NCAA, in statement, called the settlement “ a road map for college sports leaders and Congress to ensure this uniquely American institution can continue to provide unmatched opportunity for millions of students.”
Under the proposal, the NCAA and the five conferences would pay nearly $2.8 billion over 10 years to more than 14,000 former and current student-athletes.
The deal also calls for revenue sharing between schools and players, permitting each school to set aside up to $21 million to go directly to students.
The exact nature of how the damages will be dispersed and how the revenue-sharing system will be implemented still needs to be worked out.
The terms of the deal still need approval by a federal judge.
Israeli army says 3 more bodies of hostages recovered in Gaza
The Israel army said the bodies of three more hostages have been recovered in Gaza on Friday morning. Officials said the three were killed on the day of Hamas’ attack in Israel and their bodies were then taken into Gaza.
They have been identified as Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, and Orion Hernandez Radoux. Israeli officials said their families have been notified.
Last week, the Israeli army said it found three other bodies of hostages killed by Hamas as they were fleeing a music festival.
Israel believes around 100 hostages remain in Gaza.
Later today, the United Nations’ International Court of Justice is expected to rule on whether Israel should cease military operations in the Gaza city of Rafah.
Though the court has no way of enforcing its ruling, the case brought by South Africa comes amid growing worldwide scrutiny over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Group of students walk out during Harvard graduation
The latter chant was about 13 students the school barred from receiving their degrees at commencement due to their conduct at an on-campus protest encampment.
Harvard said the students were not in good standing and violated the university’s policies despite a recommendation from faculty members that the students be able to receive their diplomas.
The pro-Palestinian encampment, which lasted three weeks at Harvard, aimed to get the school to divest from companies that support Israel and the war in Gaza. Harvard agreed it would discuss the protester’s demands.
Also on Thursday, the presidents of Northwestern and Rutgers universities testified in front of a House committee where they defended their decisions to negotiate with protesters to end encampments on their campus.
The chancellor of UCLA also took questions about the delay in sending in police to respond to violence between sparring protesting groups on the California campus.
Hundreds feared dead after major landslide in Papa New Guinea
The landslide struck the South Pacific nation around 3 a.m. local time, reportedly flattening dozens of homes as people were asleep inside.
The Australian Broadcasting Company reported more than 100 people have been killed, but authorities have not released an official death toll as of yet.
Prime Minister James Marape said in a statement, “We are sending in disaster officials, PNG Defence Force, and the Department of Works and Highways to meet provincial and district officials in Enga and also start relief work, recovery of bodies, and reconstruction of infrastructure. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the landslide disaster.”
NOAA releases its busiest hurricane season forecast ever
It is anticipated to be a very active hurricane season this year, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) releasing its busiest hurricane season forecast ever.
According to NOAA scientists, there will be between 17 and 25 named storms, compared to an average of 14.
Of those storms, 8 to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes, including 4 to 7 major hurricanes which are classified as category 3, 4, or 5 and have wind speeds of 111 miles per hour or higher.
Officials said near-record warm temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and the development of La Nina in the Pacific are among the factors contributing to this record forecast.
AAA projects nearly 44 million people will travel for Memorial Day
We have a warning for you if you’re traveling for Memorial Day: You will be among a near-record number of people to be on the move this holiday weekend — a number not seen in almost 20 years.
AAA projects 43.8 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the five-day Memorial Day holiday period, which began on Thursday, May 23 and extends through Monday, May 27.
AAA said the total number of travelers is a 4 percent increase over last year and is very close to matching 2005’s record high of 44 million travelers.
AAA is projecting at least one record will be broken as 38.4 million travelers are expected to hit the road. That’s the highest number for a Memorial Day weekend since AAA began tracking in 2000.
NAIA bans transgender athletes from competing in most women’s sports
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA) has implemented a new policy that significantly restricts transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports. On Monday, April 8, the NAIA Council of Presidents voted 20-0 in favor of the policy, which permits only those assigned female at birth and who have not started hormone therapy to compete in women’s sports.
“We know there are a lot of different opinions out there,” NAIA president Jim Carr told CBS Sports. “For us, we believed our first responsibility was to create fairness and competition in the NAIA. … We also think it aligns with the reasons Title IX was created. You’re allowed to have separate but equal opportunities for women to compete.”
According to Pew Research Center, 1.6% of U.S. adults are transgender or nonbinary. Carr says The NAIA has had no transgender athletes competing in its postseasons to date.
The NAIA represents roughly 83,000 athletes across 241 primarily small colleges in the United States, is the first collegiate sports governing body to enforce such a policy, set to commence in August.
Shiwali Patel, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, called the NAIA policy an outrage. Adding it is a clear act of discrimination that adversely affects trans, nonbinary, and intersex people, while also constraining the abilities of all athletes. Patel argued that such policies don’t improve competition fairness but rather promote exclusion and perpetuate harmful stereotypes against women.
Last month, over a dozen active and former college athletes filed a federal lawsuit against the NCAA. They claim that the NCAA, which oversees more than 500,000 athletes, infringed upon their rights by permitting transgender women to participate in women’s sports.
Following the NAIA’s announcement, the NCAA issued a statement emphasizing its commitment to women’s sports as a leading platform in the U.S., its ongoing support for Title IX, significant investments in women’s sports, and the guarantee of fair competition for all student-athletes across NCAA championships.
The statement saying, “College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America and the NCAA will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition for all student-athletes in all NCAA championships.”
Trump’s criminal cases see day of court filings on immunity claim, bids to delay
Special counsel Jack Smith urges the Supreme Court to reject former President Trump’s claims of immunity in the election interference case, and Tesla settles a lawsuit over a 2018 crash involving its Autopilot system. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
Court filings on immunity claim, bid to delay in Trump cases
Smith argued against Trump’s “novel and sweeping” immunity claim, emphasizing that “no person is above the law.” Trump’s legal team had filed a brief with the court last month saying “the presidency cannot retain its vital independence, if the president faces criminal prosecution” after leaving office.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on this matter on April 25, with a ruling expected by early July.
Trump and co-defendants argue for her removal, citing a conflict of interest, a claim Willis denies, highlighting the recent resignation of her top prosecutor, Nathan Wade.
In all cases, Trump has entered not guilty pleas.
DOJ rejects demands for Biden’s classified documents audio recordings
The Department of Justice has rejected a request by House Republicans for audio recordings of special counsel interviews with President Joe Biden concerning his management of classified documents, despite GOP threats to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress.
The House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, having sought the audio recordings after Hur’s report was released in February, were told by the DOJ that it has fully cooperated. The department suggests the GOP’s demands are politically rather than oversight driven.
Hamas says it rejected latest Israeli cease-fire proposal
Despite Egyptian sources indicating potential agreement concessions, a Hamas spokesperson stated no progress had been made towards a deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, actively monitoring the negotiations, emphasized Israel’s determination to secure the release of all hostages and defeat Hamas.
On Monday, April 8, the NAIA Council of Presidents voted 20 to 0 in favor of the policy, which permits only those assigned female at birth and who have not started hormone therapy to compete in women’s sports.
The NAIA, which represents about 83,000 athletes across 241 primarily small colleges in the United States, is believed to be the first collegiate sports governing body to enforce such a policy, set to take effect in August.
Tesla settles lawsuit over fatal autopilot crash of Apple engineer
Tesla has settled a lawsuit with the family of Walter Huang, a Silicon Valley engineer who died in a crash while using the company’s Autopilot semi-autonomous driving software in 2018. The lawsuit alleged that Tesla, along with CEO Elon Musk, had exaggerated the capabilities of its self-driving technology, misleading consumers into believing that constant vigilance while driving was unnecessary.
The incident, which occurred during Huang’s commute to work, has raised significant safety concerns regarding Tesla’s autonomous driving features. Tesla had contended that Huang was distracted by playing a video game on his phone at the time of the crash.
This settlement, the amount of which remains undisclosed, comes amid broader scrutiny over Tesla’s technology and a Justice Department inquiry into the company’s marketing of its self-driving capabilities.
UConn defeats Purdue to repeat as men’s NCAA National Champions
Led by Tristen Newton — who scored 20 points and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player — UConn secured its sixth national title. This victory marks the first time a team has won back-to-back titles since Florida in 2006 and 2007.
According to the NCAA, about 26% of brackets in its Challenge game this year had predicted the Huskies to repeat their championship win.
Voting 13-2, Big Green’s basketball players elected to join Service Employees International Union Local 560, which already represents other Dartmouth employees. The same day, Dartmouth College appealed the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that Dartmouth players are employees.
“Classifying these students as employees simply because they play basketball is as unprecedented as it is inaccurate,” Dartmouth said in a statement.
Dartmouth College argued unionization is not appropriate in part because, unlike other universities where athletics generate millions of dollars, the costs of Dartmouth’s athletics program far exceed any revenue.
“Those arguments, I think, are phony arguments,” said Michael Hsu, a former University of Minnesota regent and co-founder of the College Basketball Players Association. “If you have unionized secretaries or even factory workers, you can’t make the argument that they don’t make money for the company, or they lose money for the company. So I think it’s a ridiculous proposition that they would use that argument. It doesn’t even have a meaningful example in the corporate world.”
Hsu has filed two charges with the NLRB against the NCAA and Northwestern’s use of the term, “student-athlete.”
The sordid past of ‘student-athlete’
“These boys are student-athletes. Student comes first,” Samuel L. Jackson said in the film, “Coach Carter,” portraying high school basketball coach Ken Carter, who famously locked out his players for performing poorly in academics.
But unlike the well-meaning characterization of the character Carter, the term student-athlete was not crafted to prioritize education.
“The term was created by Walter Byers, the first executive director of the NCAA in the 1950s,” Hsu said. “And they created the term to try and escape liability, legal liability.”
In 1955, Fort Lewis A&M football player Ray Dennison crushed his skull during a game and later died. His widow filed a claim for death benefits under workers’ compensation. The case made it to the Colorado Supreme Court, where the justices ruled the compensation fund did not extend to student-athletes.
Byers — who made sure the term “student-athlete” was embedded throughout college sports — later renounced its use in his memoir, “Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Exploiting College Athletes.” The NCAA continues to use the term.
NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo warned in 2021 that where appropriate, she will allege that calling players student-athletes is a violation of the National Labor Relations Act.
“He’s basically admitting that they’re violating the law by saying that, but he’s saying, ‘Oh, we need a new law to make this okay and make it legal,’” Hsu said.
Baker claimed 95% of athletes’ opportunities would be endangered if athletes were considered school employees. Like Dartmouth, he’s arguing the vast majority of schools lose money on athletic programs and can’t afford to pay their players. This extends from small programs like those within the Ivy League Conference to Division II and Division III schools.
The NCAA continues to push Congress for a limited antitrust exemption to give it a break from the onslaught of lawsuits it now faces. As for Dartmouth and the fight against its basketball-playing employees, Hsu says that case will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court.
