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NLRB throws out ruling to allow college athletes to unionize

AUG 17, 2015 at 1:20p ET

AUG 17, 2015 at 1:20p ET

Former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter spearheaded plans to form the first U.S. labor union for college athletes.

CHICAGO -- The National Labor Relations Board on Monday threw out a historic ruling that gave Northwestern University football players the go-ahead to form the nation's first college athletes' union, saying the prospect of union and nonunion teams could throw off the competitive balance in college football.

The decision dismissed a March 2014 decision by a regional NLRB director in Chicago who said that the football players are effectively school employees and entitled to organize.