The inaugural Allen Sack National Symposium Advancing Integrity in College Sport was a symposium event hosted by athletic advocacy organization, The Drake Group, held in Washington, D.C on May 19th, 2022. According to the Drake Group, the purpose of the symposium was to “educate the public about Congressional legislative initiatives that could advance improved educational outcomes and the health and safety of college athletes while retaining all of the positive individual development effects and campus/community camaraderie we all love about intercollegiate athletics. The event featured expert sports journalists, lawyers, politicians, and academics over a span of three panels, all of which will be featured on the 2aDays website on separate days this week.

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Today, we are highlighting Panel #1: Giving College Athletes the Right to Unionize. This panel addressed key issues surrounding unionization in college sports, including the relationship between academics and athletics in a union context, whether potential athlete unions should be carried out at the local, state, or federal level, and implications of pending federal legislation like the College Athlete Right to Organize Act, on athlete unions and collective bargaining. Panel details are located below.

Moderator: Andy Zimbalist, Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics, Smith College, President-Elect, The Drake Group.

Panelists:

Kaiya McCullough, activist and former professional soccer player

Michael Hausfeld, J.D., Chair Emeritus, Hausfeld LLP, and distinguished attorney

Christopher Murphy, United States Senator for Connecticut, lead sponsor of the College Athlete Right to Organize Act

Bob Costas, national award-winning sports journalist

For full panelist bios, click here.

* Originally published on May 30, 2022, by Katie Lever, Ph. D