In a bill filed Tuesday, North Carolina lawmakers proposed the creation of the Legislative Commission on the Fair Treatment of College Student-Athletes. The purpose of the commission would be to advocate on behalf of student-athletes by investigating their concerns within the University of North Carolina system.
According to U.S. News, the commission will consider issues such as athlete health insurance, unionization and profit sharing, as well as the right of athletes to be represented by an attorney, agent or financial advisor. It will also review rules and consequences imposed by the NCAA which limit transfer options or athletes’ ability to work another job.
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The bill, proposed by N.C. republican senators Warren Daniel, Dan Bishop and Jeff Tarte, dictates that the commission would be composed of six members of the senate and six members of the house, with political affiliation proportionate to that of the state legislature.
This proposal comes on the heels of a memo written last month by National Labor Relations Board general counsel Richard Griffith, which classifies “scholarship football players in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision private-sector colleges and universities” as employees under the National Labor Relations Act, according to Inside Higher Ed.
The memo stands behind the right of college football players to campaign for their own interests, including for employee compensation, free of retaliation.
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