A former NCAA Division I soccer player at the University of Houston has filed a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action on behalf of herself and other Division I student-athletes. Samantha Sackos sued the NCAA and all of the NCAA Division I member schools, and claims that she should have been classified as a temporary employee of the schools as opposed to an uncompensated student-athlete. The lawsuit, filed this past Monday, can be found here. The Defendants have not filed responses.
The lawsuit essentially equates, for compensation purposes, student-athletes with student participants in part-time employment programs. The crux of the allegations is that student-athletes perform non-academic functions at the school for no academic credit to an extent equal to or greater than part time temporary employees, who are required to be paid by the schools under the FLSA. Since other students who perform non-academic work are paid, so, too, should the athletes.
But what about the scholarships awarded to some student-athletes? The lawsuit argues that the scholarships cannot count as compensation paid to the athletes for a myriad of reasons. First, the scholarships are generally treated as grants and not taxable income, and are not offered to every athlete. Second, scholarships are granted to defray the costs of attending the school and are not to be used solely as the athlete chooses. Finally, a scholarship awarded to an athlete who also participates in the work study program does not relieve the school from paying the athlete for the work performed. Of course, this puts the cart before the horse in that it assumes that participating in sports is compensable in the first instance.
Regardless of how this lawsuit is decided, it is yet another attack on the “amateurism” of college sports, and another vehicle by which student-athletes can be paid. The NCAA already has its hands full on this front.