Caught in Crossfire of an Amateurism Trial: Realignment, Social Media Policies, and Athlete Handbooks

LOS ANGELES – On Monday, at a labor trial over college athlete employment, USC deputy AD (and former interim AD) Denise Kwok made several eyebrow-raising statements.

Kwok, charged with overseeing athlete academics and well-being, did not clearly answer whether athletes would be impacted by increased travel due to conference realignment. She also testified that her athletic department does not currently have an athlete handbook or social media policy, despite their ubiquity in college sports. 

The case, surrounding the matter of whether USC football and basketball players should be considered employees of the school, the Pac-12, and the NCAA, could ultimately kill the NCAA’s amateurism model. Lawyers for the National Labor Relations Board took up the case on behalf of the National College Players Association.

Much of Monday’s questioning centered on whether USC exercises enough control over athletes for them to be considered employees—a key component in defining an employer-employee relationship. Kwok was called as an adverse witness to the NLRB.

At one point, NLRB lawyers brought up conference realignment—with some away games, for instance, all the way across the U.S.—as an example of the major effect USC’s decisions might have on athletes’ lives. Kwok evaded a question about whether the increased travel resulting from USC’s move to the Big Ten would have a negative impact on athletes. Instead, she asked how “negative” could be defined and said that her school is working on “mitigating” any extra travel issues. USC’s lawyers attempted more than one objection to get the question dismissed, and Kwok finally offered that “in the event” there were effects on athlete well-being, the department would do its best to “mitigate” those issues.

Later, Kwok testified that USC had discontinued its annual handbook after a dispute over certain policies in 2020, and that the athletic department hasn’t replaced it. (Separately, Kwok also said she was unfamiliar with the school’s NIL policy.) NLRB lawyers, however, showed a school website with live links to a 2021-22 Student Athlete Handbook and social media policy. Kwok said the rules were publicized “in error,” but she agreed there is no evidence to prove that these documents weren’t enforceable, or that athletes were told they were obsolete.

Either way, athletes seemed to think they had to follow the rules, according to testimony from a session in December. 

The trial will resume Tuesday, with more adverse witness testimony from the athlete side case.