Tennessee AD Danny White rejects NCAA president Charlie Baker’s ‘negligent’ stance on collective bargaining

NCAA president Charlie Baker met with media on Thursday, discussing several topics including the potential of a collective bargaining agreement in college athletics. However, Baker pushed back on the idea that simply implementing a CBA is a “ simple answer ” to these issues. Baker said that a federal law would need to be passed in order for it to be put into place.

However, Tennessee athletic director Danny White has since rebuffed Baker’s claims, sharing shared three points against the NCAA president’s response. He listed them on X, which you can read below: SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter “1st: You don’t have to get a federal law passed to build a collective bargaining construct to save college sports.

It’s actually the only solution we have that doesn’t involve asking congress to give us a pass on the Sherman Act. “2nd: Nobody has said collective bargaining would be ‘simple.’ There are no ‘simple’ solutions to this problem. Clearly, asking congress to save us has not proven to be a ‘simple’ solution.

“3rd: Not pursuing all avenues to solve our dysfunctional system is negligent.” White’s direct call-out of the NCAA president comes just over a month after he sounded off on the current state of NIL and the NCAA transfer portal. The Tennessee AD said college athletics is in a “ worse ” state than it was before the house settlement.

He connected potential unionization to stronger academic output by slowing down the frequency of transfers in the future. As a result, White expects graduation rates to rise. To White, a potential union in college sports would also strengthen leadership and continuity in the locker room. Baker opposed this point, stating that student-athletes don’t want to go this route.

He questioned whether scholarships would be considered taxable under the agreement. “Does this apply to all college sports?” Baker asked. “Because if it does, you’re going to have kids in college sports who are going to have to write checks to their schools to pay for all the benefits they currently get that they don’t get taxed on that become benefits that are taxable because they are employees.

There’s a lot to that issue that nobody ever talks about.” While it’s currently unclear what collective bargaining in college athletics would look like, it’s clear that White believes it should be implemented by the NCAA sooner rather than later. Simple or not.

NCAA president Charlie Baker met with media on Thursday, discussing several topics including the potential of a collective bargaining agreement in college athletics. However, Baker pushed back on the idea that simply implementing a CBA is a “simple answer” to these issues.

Baker said that a federal law would need to be passed in order […] NCAA president Charlie Baker met with media on Thursday, discussing several topics including the potential of a collective bargaining agreement in college athletics. However, Baker pushed back on the idea that simply implementing a CBA is a “simple answer” to these issues. Baker said that a federal law would need to be passed in order […]