Memorandum from Student-Athletes to Schools: My Social Media Posts Regarding My Coaches or My Causes Are Protected Speech?How the NLRB Is Restructuring Rights of Student-Athletes in Private Institutions

• Author: Roger M. Groves
• Position: Roger M. Groves is a tenured full professor at Florida Coastal School, former equity partner at Howard & Howard Attorneys, PC, and former tax judge.
• Pages: 69-144

Memorandum from Student-Athletes to Schools: My

Social Media Posts Regarding My Coaches or My

Causes Are Protected Speech—How the NLRB Is

Restructuring Rights of Student-Athletes in Private

Institutions

Roger M. Groves*

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction .................................................................................... 71

I. The State of the NLRB Law on Student-Athlete Regulation ......... 77

A. Preliminary Decision Granting Employee Status

to Student-Athletes .................................................................. 79

B. Full Board Decision: The Jurisdictional Wink and Nod .......... 79

II. The General Counsel Memorandum .............................................. 83

A. Background and the Return to Established Precedent ............. 83

B. Scope and Breadth ................................................................... 84

C. Substantive Guidance on Treatment of Student-Athletes as

Employees Under the Act ........................................................ 85

1. Foundational Cases ........................................................... 86

2. Rejection of the Educational Exclusion ............................ 89

3. Finding the Relationship More Economic than

Educational ........................................................................ 90

D. Application of Precedent to Student-Athletes ......................... 91

III. GCM Rationale for why Guidance on Student-Athlete Status Is

Authorized Despite Prior Board Denial of Jurisdiction in

Northwestern University ................................................................ 92

A. The GCM Policy Rebuttal ....................................................... 92

B. Changed Circumstances ........................................................... 93

1. Multi-School Context. ....................................................... 93

2. Distinction Between a Single Representation Case and

Unfair Labor Practices ...................................................... 95

3. Erosion of NCAA Dominance .......................................... 97

4. Analogous Legal Principles from Antitrust Law ............ 100

IV. What We Can Learn from a Student Handbook: Section 7

Rights for Student-Athletes .......................................................... 102

A. Social Media Policy ............................................................... 103

70 LOUISIANA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 78

1. “Inappropriate” and “Embarrassing”—Overbroad

Language with a Chilling Effect on Protected

Section 7 Activity ............................................................ 105

2. “Family” and “Team” Protection

—Inadequate Purpose ..................................................... 106

B. Corroboration from NLRB Case Law ................................... 106

1. Appropriate Tests for Section 7 Determinations ............. 107

2. Application of the Multi-Test Standard .......................... 107

3. Narrowly Tailored Curative Provisions .......................... 110

4. Inadequacy of Image and Reputation Rationale .............. 111

5. Inadequacy of Monitoring Functions .............................. 112

6. Safe Haven Provisions Prohibiting Illegal Activity ........ 113

C. The Sports Medicine and Player Communications

Rule: The Link Between Injury Complaints and

Section 7 Activity .................................................................. 114

D. Student-Athlete Rights and Responsibilities—Dispute

Resolution Procedure ............................................................. 118

E. Athletic Communications—Media Relations ........................ 119

V. Social Protests as Protected Section 7 Activity ............................ 121

VI. Modeling Best Practices ............................................................... 127

A. The Horrors of Ambiguity ..................................................... 128

B. Mixed Messages and Potential for Predominant Use Tests ... 129

C. Severability ............................................................................ 132

D. Media Freedom for Student-Athletes .................................... 132

E. Policy Considerations and Institutional Strategies to

Overcome Them .................................................................... 134

F. Analytical Construct for Drafting Provisions:

Incorporating Competing Interests from Multiple

Legal Subject Areas ............................................................... 136

1. Multiple Legal Subject Sources for Protected Rights

and Liabilities .................................................................. 137

2. Student-Athlete Publicity Rights ..................................... 138

3. Antitrust Limitations on the NCAA and Member

Institutions ....................................................................... 139

VII. Application Beyond Student-Athletes .......................................... 140

Conclusion .................................................................................... 143

2017] MEMORANDUM FROM STUDENT-ATHLETES TO SCHOOLS 71

INTRODUCTION

It is possible for university coaches, staff, and administration to have done

nothing wrong, even in light of an appearance of impropriety or allegations from

student-athletes. It also is possible for university personnel to err, causing

grievances by student-athletes to be valid. A university may have harbored

transgressions that, once discovered, inspire student-athletes to band together to

assert their common grievances. There are actual and rumored fake classes for

student-athletes, child endangerment or abuse scandals occurring in university

children’s programs, and alleged prostitution schemes under the guise of

athletic recruitment.1 In all of those circumstances there is smoke—and

sometimes fire.

Copyright 2017, by ROGER M. GROVES.

* Roger M. Groves is a tenured full professor at Florida Coastal School,

former equity partner at Howard & Howard Attorneys, PC, and former tax judge.

The author extends emphatic appreciation to stellar law students Phillip

Bazemore, Roxanne Jackson, and Gwendolyn Belanger for their research

assistance for this Article.

1. The Natio nal Collegiat e Athletic Association (“NCAA”) investigated

alleged fake classes taken by scholarship football and basketball players at the

University of North Carolina. See B. David Ridpath, North Carolina Releases

NCAA’s Third, Yes Third, Notice of Allegations In Academic Fra ud Case, FORBES

SPORT S MONEY (De c. 2 2, 2016, 4:18 PM ), https: //www. forbes. com/si tes

/bdavidridpath/20 16/12/22/north-carolina-rel eases-ncaas-third-yes-third-not ice-

of-allegations-in-academic -fraud-case/#6479a6e2d248 [https://perma.cc/87KU-

SAZV]. The NC AA severely sanctioned Pennsylvani a State University for a

child-abuse scandal, which involved former football coach Jerry Sandusk y, and

for the fail ures of administ rators —includi ng Gr aham Spanie r, t he f ormer

President of the university—to report the child abuse to the proper authorities.

See Penn State Sanctions, NAT’L COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASS’N (July 23, 2012,

12:00 AM), http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/penn-state-

sanctions [https:/ /perma.cc/QG69 -HCAH]. B oth Sandu sky and Spanier were

convicted for committing child endangerment crimes. See Sara Ganim & Evan

Simko-Bednarski, F ormer Pe nn State P resident Spanier convicted in Sandusky

cas e, CNN (Mar. 24, 2017, 11:23 PM), http://www. cnn.com/20 17/03/24 /us

/former- penn-state-pres ident-convicted/ [https:/ /perma.cc/797U -YFWG]. The

NCAA’s Committee on Infractions also has imposed severe penalties against the

University of Louisville for providing escort services—including prostitutes—to

basketball recruits. Ma rc Tracy, N.C.A.A. Places Louisville on Pr obation a nd

Suspends Pitino, N.Y. TIMES (June 15, 2017), https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06

/15/sports/ ncaabasketball/louisvill e-probation-rick- pitino-suspended-nca a.html

[https://perma.cc/T5R4-65BQ]. Louisville has appealed those findings. Associated

Press, Louisville Appeals 'Draconian' NCAA P enalties in Escort Case, SPORTS