CHICAGO (AP) - Northwestern University’s quarterback testified at a federal hearing that playing college football is a job that schools make clear trumps academics.
Kain Colter spoke Tuesday at the National Labor Relations Board hearing. It’s being held to decide whether to OK the players’ bid to form a first-of-its kind union. Whether they qualify as employees is the core question the board must answer.
Asked why Northwestern gave him a scholarship of $75,000 a year, he responded, “To play football. To perform an athletic service.”
He said he’d aspired to study pre-med but abandoned that plan because of time demands the school makes on football players.
He told the hearing players have no choice but to sacrifice academics. He says they could lose their scholarships if they slack off on football.
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