NLRB memo says college athletes are employees of their schools

College athletes who earn millions for their schools are employees, the National Labor Relations Board’s top lawyer said in guidance released Wednesday that would allow players at private universities to unionize and negotiate over their working conditions.

NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo also threatened action against schools, conferences and the NCAA if they continue to use the term “student-athlete,” saying that it was created to disguise the employment relationship with college athletes and discourage them from pursuing their rights.

“The freedom to engage in far-reaching and lucrative business enterprises makes players at academic institutions much more similar to professional athletes who are employed by a team to play a sport,” Abruzzo wrote.

In a statement, the NCAA disputed the characterization of its athletes as employees and said that its member schools and conferences “continue to make great strides in modernizing rules to benefit college athletes.”

“College athletes are students who compete against other students, not employees who compete against other employees,” said the nation’s largest college sports governing body, with oversight of some 450,000 athletes. “Like other students on a college or university campus who receive scholarships, those who participate in college sports are students. Both academics and athletics are part of a total educational experience that is unique to the United States and vital to the holistic development of all who participate.”

Abruzzo’s memo does not immediately alter the dynamic between the schools and their athletes, who can receive scholarships and limited cost of attendance funding in exchange for playing sports. Instead, it is legal advice for the NLRB should a case arise.

That could be triggered by an effort by a team to unionize, a claim of an unfair labor practice or even by a school continuing to refer to a player as a “student-athlete,” Abruzzo said.

“It just perpetuates this notion that players at academic institutions are not workers that have statutory protection,” she said. “It is chilling workers’ rights to engage with one another to improve their terms and conditions of employment.”

Gabe Feldman, the director of the Tulane Sports Law Program, said the memo is “yet another threat” to the NCAA and its business model, which relies on unpaid athletes to reap billions in revenue that is parsed out to its 1,200 member schools.

“All signs point to an increasingly at-risk and fragile system of college athletics,” he said.

OLYMPICS

Beijing Winter Games announce protocols

A 21-day quarantine for non-fully vaccinated athletes, officials and workers at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Daily testing for vaccinated people. No tickets sold to anyone living outside China as Olympic venues open their doors again.

Restrictions imposed to control the COVID-19 pandemic at the next Winter Games in February were announced Wednesday by the International Olympic Committee.

While not imposing a vaccine mandate, organizers in Beijing plan stricter rules than applied at the Tokyo Olympics where vaccination was advised though not demanded within a strict regime of testing.

Olympic athletes can ask to avoid quarantine, the IOC said, for a “justified medical exemption” — a phrase that appeared to exclude ideological objections to vaccines.

The Beijing Winter Olympics are being held from Feb. 4-20.

NBA

Unvaccinated players could lose paychecks

For months, NBA stars and executives have pushed for every player to get vaccinated. Though 90% of the league is vaccinated, there are still a few holdouts — and it could cost them.

Unvaccinated NBA players who do not comply with local vaccination mandates will not be paid for the games they miss, announced Mike Bass, the NBA’s executive president of communications.

The rule mainly affects unvaccinated players on the Nets and the Warriors, as both New York and San Francisco require players to be vaccinated, barring any religious exemptions. (Last week, the New York Knicks announced the team was fully vaccinated.) If players remain unvaccinated, they cannot compete in home games, and Wednesday’s announcement confirms that missing play will also mean less money.

The cities’ vaccination policies do not apply to players from visiting teams who compete at their arenas.

• Michael Porter Jr. put pen to paper on a maximum value $172 million rookie extension with the Denver Nuggets that could be worth more than $200 million.

Porter officially signed the agreement Wednesday, but it was an off-the-court matter that drew most of the attention.

The 23-year-old Porter said two bouts with COVID-19 led him to the decision not to be vaccinated.

“For me, I had COVID twice, I saw how my body reacted, and although the chances are slim, with the vaccine, there’s a chance you could have a bad reaction to it,” Porter said. “For me, I don’t feel comfortable.

Porter averaged 19.0 points and 7.3 boards in 61 games (54 starts) last season.

• Instant replay of outof-bounds violations in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime of NBA games this season will be initiated by a coach’s challenge, rather than referees.

The NBA’s Board of Governors approved the change on a one-year trial basis.

Under the previous rule, coaches could not challenge an out-of-bounds ruling within the final two minutes. The change allows coaches to challenge an out-of-bounds ruling at any point in the game.

JURISPRUDENCE

Olympian pleads guilty to storming Capitol

Five-time Olympic swimming medalist Klete Keller pleaded guilty to a felony charge for storming the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot and faces 21 to 27 months in prison.

Keller acknowledged in court records that he tried to obstruct Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, brushed away officers who tried to remove him from the Capitol Rotunda and yelled profane comments about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as he stood near officers wearing riot gear.

He also acknowledged throwing away the distinctive U.S. Olympic team jacket he wore during the riot and destroying his phone and memory card containing photos and videos he took inside the Capitol.

TENNIS

Djokovic pulls out of Indian Wells event

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic is the latest big name to drop out of the BNP Paribas Open set for next week at Indian Wells.

SOCCER

Pulisic, Reyna not fit for U.S. qualifiers

Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna were left off the U.S. roster for the next three World Cup qualifiers because of injuries, and Weston McKennie returned after being dropped for two games for violating team COVID-19 protocols.

Pulisic, the team’s star attacker, has been sidelined since spraining an ankle at Honduras on Sept. 8 and Reyna, a starting midfielder, since injuring a hamstring at El Salvador on Sept. 2.

The 13th-ranked U.S. plays No. 59 Jamaica at Austin, Texas, on Oct. 7, is at 68th-ranked Panama three days later and hosts No. 44 Costa Rica on Oct. 13 at Columbus, Ohio.

• Columbus opened the scoring on Brayan Angulo’s own goal in the fourth minute and the defending MLS champion Crew went on beat Cruz Azul of Mexico 2-0 to win the Campeones Cup.

Jonathan Mensah scored in the 74th on a header to seal it.

Cruz Azul won LIGA MX’s Campeón de Campeones to qualify for the game.