Student is a Nice Name for Free Labor

Authors

Anderson, Jenna M.

Abstract

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) contends that the principle of amateurism protects student-athletes and ensures that their number one priority is education. Although this may have been true when the NCAA was formed, the commercialization of college sports and accompanying monetary incentives have enticed the NCAA to enforce rules that exploit student- athletes at the detriment of their education. The NCAA’s impure motives are no longer going unnoticed. The public is disgusted by what it sees in the media. Student-athletes are rebelling by suing the NCAA for violating federal antitrust laws. The states are passing laws that give the NCAA no choice but to make a change. Courts are chipping away at the principle of amateurism one case at a time. The NCAA must be held accountable. This note proposes a three-part, student-centered solution to reform the current state of affairs. First, the United States Supreme Court should definitively hold that the principle of amateurism is not a legitimate procompetitive purpose for the NCAA to pursue. Second, the NCAA should abolish the principle of amateurism and create a line of demarcation between college and professional athletics by redefining the term “student-athlete” to place an appropriate emphasis on education. Third, the universities should improve the current curriculum options offered to student-athletes.

Recommended Citation

Anderson, Jenna M., Case Note, Student is a Nice Name for Free Labor, 61 Santa Clara L. Rev. 589 (2021).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/lawreview/vol61/iss2/4