When it comes to the "old definition of amateurism", the NCAA is under legal assault on at least 3 different fronts. 

Our podcast conversation today focuses on three pending legal cases involving athletes as employees-Dartmouth’s men’s basketball team attempting to unionize; Johnson v NCAA, with the plaintiffs arguing athletes should be treated as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act; and the NLRB upcoming hearings probing whether USC, the Pac-12 and the NCAA are treating athletes as they would an employee.

A prominent journalist and a legal scholar join me today to talk about the 3 cases moving their way through the political and legal systems involving athletes as employees. 

Sam C. Ehrlich, JD/PhD is an assistant professor of legal studies at Boise State University. Sam’s research focuses on the legal governance of sports leagues, specifically through sport-specific antitrust exemptions, athlete fairness in collective bargaining and employment, and tort and constitutional liability for overseeing athletic organizations.

Amanda Christovich is a reporter at Front Office Sports based in New York City covering the business of college sports. Her work has previously appeared in USA TODAY and The Wall Street Journal. She plans to be in the NLRB hearing covering the arguments in December 2023.

All three cases are moving ahead in an environment where the NCAA is also putting great pressure on Congress to decide the definition of amateurism in college athletics in a post-Alston world. These cases could fundamentally alter college athletics. Let’s get started.