Unionizing College Athletics
Outside the Lines (Sunday 9 a.m. ET, ESPN)
Following Wednesday’s historic ruling that Northwestern football players qualify as employees of the university and can unionize, reporter Tom Farrey profiles former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter, who brought the case to the National Labor Relations Board along with the College Athletes Players Association and the United Steelworkers union. Colter explains his motives and looks at the long term possibility of unionizing college sports.
“When you’re trying to make a change, not everybody’s going to be on board. This is just the beginning. All players, regardless of your sport, regardless of your gender, deserve to have basic protections that they’re not getting right now.” — Kain Colter
“I believe that they had to make the case that Northwestern athletes do not have a voice, and that being a student athlete is, essentially, a job. I respect his (Colter’s) willingness to have the courage to step up for what he believes in. I just don’t think this is the right mode of operations, to go after a university that stands for all the right things.” – C.J. Batcher, former Northwestern quarterback
SC Featured Tells Story of Young Racer’s Triumphant Recovery
SportsCenter (Sunday, 10 a.m., ESPN)
espnW.com (posting Sunday)
In her first mini-sprint car race, 12-year old Harli White’s car overturned and burst into flames. Trapped inside and badly burned, she believed her life was ending until another driver reached into the flames and pulled her out. Tom Rinaldi reports on White’s remarkable recovery, unrelenting determination to race again and bond with the man who saved her life — a young driver whose own life would end in tragedy.
“I basically gave up. I prayed to God, ‘Is this my time to go? And if it is, take me now,” — Harli White
“I said, ‘There’s no possible way that you’re ever going to race again’. She says, ‘Yes I can. I’ll get better. I’ll get my arm to moving and I’ll get my neck fixed, and I will get better, and I will race again’.” — Charlie White, Harli’s father on her desire to race again
“Picking It” has Different Meaning for Padres First Baseman
ESPN Deportes SportsCenter (Sunday, 11 p.m.)
Reportajes Especiales piece on espndeportes.com
Baseball Tonight (Sunday, 6:30 p.m., ESPN)
You wouldn’t expect to see a Major Leaguer picking up an empty bottle or wrapper on the field, but Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso would not be above it. In 1995 his family left Cuba and settled in Miami where his father worked several jobs, including cleaning office buildings with Yonder helping until 2008 when he was selected in the first round of the MLB Draft. He gained his reputation for being a “clean” guy – a reputation Yonder says doesn’t bother him and that working hard with his dad helped make him who he is today.
-
-
-
-
-
