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Federal agency says college athletes can unionize
College Athletes Unio Heal
In this Jan. 28 file photo, Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter, right, speaks during a news conference in Chicago. - photo by Associated Press
CHICAGO — In a stunning ruling that could revolutionize a college sports industry worth billions of dollars and have dramatic repercussions at schools coast to coast, a federal agency said Wednesday that football players at Northwestern University can create the nation's first union of college athletes. The decision by a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board answered the question at the heart of the debate over the unionization bid: Are football players who receive full scholarships to the Big Ten school considered employees under federal law, thereby allowing them to unionize? Peter Sung Ohr, the NLRB regional director, said in a 24-page decision that the players "fall squarely" within the broad definition of employee.