What is a student-athlete? A student-athlete is a participant in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the educational institution in which the student is enrolled. Student-athletes are full-time students and athletes at the same time. They are not currently considered employees by government.
What is an essential employee? An essential employee is a designated employee that is required to work during a business closure in order to meet operational requirements. Essential employees designation is determined by the individual state, along with the responsibilities of the employee, and the reasons for closing.
So if a college or university or a high school stops holding in person classes due to the pandemic but still goes forward with athletics, are the student-athletes now considered essential employees? Where I am located, the State of Ohio recognizes the 14 categories of essential workers released by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Student-athlete is currently not one of them. But should they be considered essential employees?
Let us make no mistake; student-athletes at many schools are really essential athletes if for no other reason than college athletics is too big to fail. The failure to hold the college football season is estimated to result in a $4 billion loss. And herein lies the problem. Student-athletes are needed to make sure that college athletics happen, and they are not treated or recognized as employees by government. Once a college, university or high school cancels their primary reason for operation, performing in person instruction, they have opened a Pandora’s box in my opinion, if they allow athletics to continue.
The decision in 2015 by the National Labor Board to not upend the economic status of collegiate sports by allowing players to unionize is in jeopardy. Current collegiate athletes have started forming alliances and through efforts like Justin Fields’ petition to allow football to happen in the Big Ten, have created a whole new form of activism among student-athletes. Students are speaking out on all types of issues and concerns and asking for a place at the table where decisions are made on their futures.
Student-athletes will be risking their health and safety this fall to ensure college athletics happen. All in order to help athletic programs balance their budgets and provide a product for their fans to consume. If athletic programs allow athletics to move forward while in class instruction is cancelled, eliminating the main arguments for student-athletes being exempted from classification as employees, expect to see major movement on the unionization and reclassification of the student-athlete. Student-athletes deserve their place at the table when it comes to future athletic competition. And they deserve answers to their concerns.
Oh Geez Sports 