Richard Griffin, general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, fired a flaming rocket across the bow of the mighty college football industry this week, when he declared in a memo that athletes at private universities fit the definition of an “employee” under federal labor law.
But, depending on which expert is talking, Griffin’s memo was either a major blow for college players’ rights that could eventually affect public universities as well or a glancing one to be brushed off by the Trump administration when Griffin leaves his GC post in November.
