Virginia Foxx Asks Former Student-Athlete About The Importance Of Academics In Collegiate Sports

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During a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) questioned Morgyn Wynne, former softball student athlete at Oklahoma State University, about balancing academics and athletics.

Transcript

00:00I recognize the gentlelady from North Carolina, Ms. Fox.

00:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I thank our witnesses for being here today.

00:08Mr. Nash, in profit-generating college sports,

00:12we already see a trend of student-athletes staying long past the typical four years of eligibility.

00:18This is for some athletes to maximize time in college athletics

00:22to profit as long as possible, as if it were a full-time job.

00:27How might this problem be exacerbated if all student-athletes are considered employees?

00:36Thank you for the question.

00:38I think there would be a real danger in that problem being exacerbated

00:42because one subject of collective bargaining, if it were to be allowed,

00:47would be to remove the eligibility rules

00:51and demand that student-athletes be able to participate as long as they like.

00:59It would be a potential subject of bargaining.

01:01What impact do you believe this trend has on the overall educational mission of universities?

01:08Well, I think there's no question that the movement to reclassifying student-athletes as employees

01:18has a significant potential to interfere with education.

01:24We've seen that in the cases that have been brought before the NLRB.

01:27We saw that in the USC case where the general counsel of the NLRB challenged the USC student-athlete handbook

01:38which provided the students with guidance on how to deal with interviews and social media

01:44and encourage them to speak positively about their teammates

01:47and be careful about not posting things that could follow you for life.

01:52According to the NLRB and the complaint that they issued against the USC,

01:58that violated the labor laws if they were employees.

02:03Ms. Wynn, some have noted that the trend of professional student-athletes

02:07could lead to fewer roster spots for freshmen or transfers.

02:11As a former student-athlete, does this trend concern you?

02:17I think that this trend does concern me, and it concerns my counterparts,

02:22other student-athletes, because we are not in favor of cutting athletic opportunity.

02:29So in your written testimony, you mentioned the importance of academics during your time

02:34as a student-athlete at Oklahoma State University.

02:37Can you discuss your academic experience as a student-athlete,

02:42and as part of that, how might the importance of academics change

02:46if student-athletes are deemed to be employees?

02:49My academic experience was certainly a high point of my career.

02:55I studied strategic communications in undergrad,

02:58and during that time, my coach also was very supportive of joining extracurricular clubs as well,

03:08so I had the ability to join an advertising club in my college.

03:14My coaches took academics very seriously.

03:17When we were playing on the road, we had study halls on the road with each other,

03:23and even our academic advisors would travel with us to ensure that we had the most adequate resources at all times.

03:31And they demonstrated a very healthy balance between my athletic experience and my academic experience.

03:39Well, that's wonderful to hear that there was that emphasis on your academics.

03:44Ms. McWilliams-Parker, academic achievement and professional development have been the primary purpose of post-secondary education

03:53and the student-athlete experience.

03:55What educational and other benefits do student-athletes gain from their athletic experience,

04:01and how does this experience help them in their future careers?

04:06I would say that the whole team concept of being on a team, that experience by itself is pretty powerful.

04:13You learn leadership, you learn perseverance.

04:17I mean, even in these discussions of injury and being hungry and all those other things,

04:21I mean, there is something about athletics that defines who we are as a country and as we are as a community,

04:29and to provide access and opportunity for our student-athletes, whether it's careers.

04:33I mean, part of my institution helped me get a post-graduate scholarship to go get my degree at Temple.

04:39I've never had to pay for college except that one year that I talked about as a walk-on.

04:44Careers, as we have partners and sponsors, I mean, we have pathways to help them get internships

04:49and those types of opportunities.

04:51So, there's just so many benefits of being a student-athlete, not just on the court, but also off the court,

04:57and as leaders and administrators, we have that responsibility to support that effort.

05:02Well, thank you very much.

05:03My grandson was on the track team.

05:06He was a thrower in high school and in college, and I think he learned a lot about teamwork.

05:14And he also said, if the coach told him, if you show up on time, you're late, show up 10 minutes early.

05:22That is a wonderful characteristic to have in our country.

05:26Thank you very much, and I appreciate it.

05:29I thank the gentlelady.

05:29Thank you very much.

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