Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but the NCAA is being challenged in court about whether the bedrock upon which college sports rests is legal, as Johnson v. NCAA is set to be heard in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. While that question won’t be directly decided at this hearing, what happens during and after it could go a long way toward deciding the future of amateurism in college athletics.
What is on the docket for Feb. 15?
The key question at hand is whether under the Federal Labor Standards act of 1938—which established, among other things, a federal minimum wage—athletes are employees of their schools and the NCAA in a joint employer relationship. This hearing will not answer that question directly. More specifically it is on the docket in order to determine whether athletes can be found to be employees. If it sounds like a technicality, that’s because it is.
