On Tuesday, attorneys for both the Northwestern football players seeking to organize their labor and Northwestern University presented their case at the first in a number of National Labor Relations Board hearings that will start up again next Tuesday morning. The hearings are expected to end next week.
Kain Colter, spokesperson of the Northwestern football players seeking unionization, will supposedly testify on Tuesday. So how is this affecting Northwestern football recruiting? Positively or negatively? Or is it even affecting it all?
ESPN recruiting specialist Tom Luginbill answers that very question.
“I don’t think it’s on their radar, we’re probably giving the prospects and the recruits a little too much credit if we think they’re paying too close attention to it,” Luginbill said.
“I don’t think anyone really knows enough yet to make any leaps in judgment. And a 16 or 17 year old young man, who’s got a lot of other things on his plate, I think it would be pretty far off the back-burner. I don’t think we know enough yet that would cause any concern or even a positive effect yet.”
Colter and company filed a union election petition with the NLRB on January 28, the first time in the history of college sports that a group of players have sought union protection. The petition is the first step in the union certification process.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on news talk radio; with regular segments on ESPN,NBC, CBS and Fox. A former NBC Chicago and Washington Times writer, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)