“Trump Admin Strikes Down Ruling That Could Make College Athletes Employees!”
The National Labor Relations Board’s acting general counsel, William B. Cowen, on Friday rescinded a key Biden-era memorandum that classified college athletes as employees under the National Labor Relations Act.
The original memo, issued in September 2021 by Biden appointee Jennifer Abruzzo, argued that athletes provide services to universities in exchange for compensation and are subject to their control—making them eligible for employee status and collective bargaining rights.
This reversal aligns with the NCAA, conferences, and universities’ ongoing push for federal legislation blocking college athletes from being classified as employees. A related bill passed a U.S. House committee in June 2024 but stalled.
The decision also follows the Trump administration’s Education Department rescinding Biden-era guidance that tied NIL compensation to Title IX gender-equity policies—further reshaping the legal landscape for college sports.
Trump NLRB Rescinds Memo Paving Way for College Athlete Unionization
In a Friday memorandum, NLRB Acting General Counsel William B. Cowen rescinded a Biden-era memo that had classified college athletes as employees, citing an unsustainable case backlog as a key reason for the reversal.
“If we attempt to accomplish everything, we risk accomplishing nothing,” Cowen wrote, emphasizing the need to reassess priorities.
The now-rescinded memo, issued by former General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, had bolstered unionization efforts, including those by Dartmouth men’s basketball players and an NLRB complaint against the NCAA, Pac-12, and USC over alleged misclassification of athletes. However, both initiatives were abandoned in late 2024 and early 2025, largely due to concerns that an unfavorable ruling under the Trump-appointed NLRB could set a lasting precedent.
The complaint, which targeted football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball players at USC, aimed to establish that the NCAA and major conferences function as private employers—a move that could have paved the way for college athlete unionization nationwide, including at public universities.
With the NLRB’s shift in stance, the future of college athlete employee rights remains uncertain.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump administration rescinds NLRB memorandum viewing college athletes as employees