The Movement to Make Athletes Employees Had Momentum. Then Trump Got Elected.

The National College Players Association is seeking to end its legal fight to classify Division I football and basketball athletes as employees of their colleges. The association, which advocates for college athletes, submitted a motion Friday to withdraw its complaint alleging that the University of Southern California, the PAC-12 Conference, and the National Collegiate Athletics Association commit unfair labor practices by deeming players amateurs, not employees entitled to workplace protections and the right to unionize. The filing comes just a week and a half after Dartmouth College basketball players withdrew their petition to unionize, possibly in anticipation of a change in partisan control in the National Labor Relations Board’s membership under the incoming Trump administration, one that is considered less friendly to the cause of calling college athletes employees.