The National Labor Relations Board granting Northwestern University football players the right to join a labor union has piqued the interest of two Connecticut lawmakers, who are now investigating potential stumbling blocks to giving student-athletes, attending Connecticut’s public universities and colleges, the same opportunities.
“In the Northwestern case, one of the players testified that he wanted to be a doctor,” explained state Representative Patricia Dillon (D-New Haven). “And, they wouldn’t let him take the course that he needed. And he depended on them for their scholarships. So, he didn’t.”
Governor Malloy says legislators must measure how the state should react to these athletes’ concerns, while also making certain any decision does not put the state at a disadvantage. Still, he admonished the NCAA.
“They’re concentrating on the big bucks that they get for the March Madness and other things and I don’t think that they’re concentrating sufficiently on the student athletes,” said Malloy.
UConn’s All-American guard, Shabazz Napier, recently said that he believes student-athletes should be compensated over and above their scholarship.
“I don’t think students should necessarily get hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said. “But, like I said, there are hungry nights that I go to bed and I’m starving. So, something can change. Something should change.”