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In an unprecedented foray into college sports, the National Labor Relations Board general counsel has declared that Northwestern University must eliminate unlawful rules governing football players and allow them greater freedom to express themselves. The ruling, which referred to players as employees, found that they must be freely allowed to post on social media, discuss issues of their health and safety, and speak with the media.The new rules could apply to the football programs at the 16 other private universities that play in the FBS, including schools such as Notre Dame, Stanford and Baylor -- but not public universities. As the nations top labor agency, the NLRB governs relations between private employers and their employees, so it has no power over public schools. Its findings on Northwestern became public on Friday.The ruling does not have force of law on the private schools, but if anyone raised a complaint, the result would likely be similar to the Northwestern case. Coaches and administrators there are no longer able to ban players from posting on social media -- as some high-profile programs have done -- or even regulate what they say. And whereas Northwestern once barred players from talking to any media not approved by the school, it is no longer allowed to do so.In addition to granting players greater freedoms, the NLRB ruling will offer athletes a clear path to bring their issues before an independent agency outside of the organizations that have historically governed college athletics -- the universities, the conferences and the NCAA.So while this ruling did not address compensation for athletes, someone could now file a charge with the NLRB asserting that failing to pay players constitutes an unfair labor practice. After all, if the NLRB -- which is led by a five-person board and a general counsel, all appointed by the president -- declared that close monitoring of social media is an unfair labor practice, it is an open question how it would view failure to pay players. Until now, the issue has been contested only in antitrust courts.The action against Northwestern came in a highly unusual proceeding. It stemmed from a charge filed in August 2015 against the school by David Rosenfeld, an activist labor lawyer with the firm of Weinberg Roger & Rosenfeld in Alameda, California, and echoed the 2014 attempt by Northwestern players to form a union. Rosenfeld alleged that Northwestern was guilty of unfair labor practices in its treatment of football players.Rosenfeld, who had no previous connection with Northwestern, relied on a provision of American labor law that allows anyone, anywhere, to bring unfair treatment of employees to the attention of the NLRB for remedial action. By the same token, if someone were to challenge the NCAAs compensation rules, it would not need to be a player -- it could be anyone.In response to Rosenfelds charge, the NLRB issued an advice memorandum late last month that described the Northwestern team rules as unlawfully overbroad. The memorandum was made public last week after ESPN.com filed a freedom of information request for the material.The jumping off point for Rosenfelds filing was a decision in 2014 by the NLRB Regional Administrator in Chicago, Peter Ohr, that Northwestern players were employees. Northwestern vigorously disputed the idea at the time and appealed Ohrs decision to the five members of the NLRB.During the course of the appeal, most of the private universities that would be affected joined Northwesterns effort. They succeeded in obtaining a ruling from the NLRB board members that the agency would not enter into the world of college sports. The board said it did not make sense for the NLRB to take jurisdiction over a potential Northwestern players union since it was the only private school in the Big Ten. It would be chaos, the board reasoned, if Northwestern was governed by the NLRB and the other schools were governed by the laws of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska.But even as the NLRB refused to take jurisdiction over the situation, Ohrs decision that the players were employees remained untouched and in effect. In the memorandum made public last week, an associate general counsel of the NLRB stated in a footnote that he assume(d) that Northwesterns scholarship football players are statutory employees.Northwestern, in a written statement from vice president for university relations Alan K. Cubbage to ESPN.com, stated that the school disputes the General Counsels assumption that Northwesterns athletes are employees and asserted that they are students, first and foremost.In his charge of unfair treatment of employees, Rosenfeld cited the Northwestern team handbook that was a critical exhibit in the 2014 hearing. The handbook includes rules governing the daily lives of the players and makes clear that they would be closely supervised by coaches.I obtained the handbook from the NLRB with a Freedom of Information Act request and located the provisions that were unfair labor practices, Rosenfeld told ESPN.com.The provisions cited by Rosenfeld and found to be unlawful included coaches monitoring of players social media use and bans on discussion of any aspects of the team ... with anyone, discussing individual grievances with fellow team members or third parties, including lawyers and union representatives, and all contacts with the media unless they were arranged by the athletic communications office.During the course of the just concluded NLRB proceedings, Northwestern agreed to modify or to eliminate the rules in question. The universitys changes and its notice to team members of the new policies resulted in the NLRB dismissing the charge without further hearings or actions. The initial filings by Rosenfeld and Northwestern have not yet been made public.Under the rule that the NLRB found to be unlawful, Northwestern coaches and even the university police could regularly monitor social media postings made by football players. Former team captain and quarterback Kain Colter, the leader of the players union effort, testified in the NLRB hearing in Chicago early in 2014 that when he posted a photo of himself in Oakley sunglasses that were a gift at a celebrity golf outing, an assistant coach texted him within 10 minutes of the posting that he must remove it. The coach was concerned that the selfie might be construed as an endorsement of Oakley products.Under the modification offered by Northwestern, the new social media rule provides that postings can be seen by Northwestern personnel and cautions against posting full or partial nudity (of yourself or another) sex, racial or sexual epithets, underage drinking, drugs, weapons or firearms, hazing, harassment, or unlawful activity.A previous handbook rule on communications told players that they must never discuss any aspects of the team with anyone. Emphasizing the confidentiality of players physical conditions and planned team strategies, the rule stated, The team is a family and what takes place on the field, in meetings, or in the locker room stays within this family.The new rule is limited to a ban on discussion of individual medical conditions and allows players to discuss on a no-name basis -- owing to HIPAA, they cannot refer to another player by name -- any vital health and safety issues impacting themselves, their teammates, and fellow collegiate football players.Rules governing Northwesterns student-athlete grievance process -- called the Student-Athlete Rights and Responsibilities (Dispute Resolution Procedure) in the handbook -- were also deemed unlawful and Northwestern has completely eliminated the procedures. The rules had stated that any grievance concerning personal rights and relationships within the team must begin with an appeal to the teams director of football operations (Cody Cejda), further appeals to Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald and the athletic director, and ultimately a review by Northwestern President Morton O. Schapiro.The universitys elimination of its procedures for player grievances was based on the NLRBs finding that the rule prohibited discussions with fellow players and third parties concerning workplace grievances.Another handbook rule told Northwestern players that they should never agree to an interview (with the media) unless the interview has been arranged by the athletic communications office, and that the players must be positive when talking about your teammates, coaches and team. Responding to the NLRBs conclusions that the rule was an infringement on player freedoms, Northwestern abandoned the rule, rewriting it to provide that players may directly speak with members of the media if (they) choose to do so.In its revised handbook, the school suggested to players that, in interviews, they should share credit for your success by talking about the contributions of your teammates and use their names. Players were also admonished to remember that every great running back needs a good offensive line and talking about the great work of others shows you have confidence in your own role and the value of your own contributions, so youre not afraid of letting someone else have their moment of glory, too.Editors note: This story has been updated for clarity.?Darius Slayton Cheap Jersey . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Custom Ny Giants Jerseys . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. http://www.giantsonlineteamshop.com/lawrence-taylor-jersey-cheap.html .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Lawrence Taylor Jersey .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. 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Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week.LOS ANGELES -- By the time Adoree Jackson effortlessly hurdled Notre Dames kicker and sprinted off to strike a Heisman pose in the end zone, every rain-soaked soul already knew they were seeing the culmination of something special for Southern California.Jackson might have punctuated his three-year career at the Coliseum with one last virtuoso display of his talent, although he hasnt decided yet.The Trojans unquestionably wrapped up their regular season by with a fitting climax to a two-month crescendo.Jackson returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns and caught a scoring pass to propel No. 12 USC to its eighth consecutive victory, 45-27 over Notre Dame on Saturday in the 88th edition of their famed intersectional rivalry.Sam Darnold passed for 205 yards and two TDs, and Ronald Jones II rushed for 134 yards and an early score as USC (9-3, No. 12 CFP) claimed the Jeweled Shillelagh for the 11th time in 15 years. Ajene Harris also returned an interception 33 yards for a score shortly before halftime for the Trojans, who fell just short of the Pac-12 South title.But if Jackson, the Trojans do-everything cornerback, heads to the NFL next season, he left LA with one of the most memorable performances in this rivalry games history.USC fans chanted One more year! throughout the second half at the smiling junior, who has scored five touchdowns against Notre Dame in his career. He returned a punt 55 yards for a score before turning a short pass into a 52-yard TD and then taking a kickoff 97 yards for his third score, leaping over John Chereson along the way.The returns and reception were just great blocks by everybody, Jackson said. They made it look easier than it was. I knew something special would happen when I trust them. They set things up, and it makes a highlight play.With an unbeaten run through October and November, USC completed a perfect home schedule and remained in contention for the league championship until the final hour of the regular season.Colorado was beaten convincingly by USC last month, but the Buffaloes win over Utah kept them one game ahead of the Trojans atop the division and sent them into the conference title game next week against Washington. USC would have advanced if the Utes had beaten Colorado.USC still could be in contention for a Rose Bowl berth, particularly if the Huskies rout Colorado. The Trojans will get a week off from practice before learning their postseason fate.What an accomplishment by a group of kids that have been through some adversity and come out the other side of it, USC coach Clay Helton said. What this team and this group have is something special. Over my 21 years (in coaching), Ill always remember this. Its aa special group.ddddddddddddJuJu Smith-Schuster caught a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to punctuate the prolific junior receivers own probable Coliseum finale. Smith-Schuster is looking toward a bowl game, but also is thinking about the future.If Adoree comes back, Im for sure coming back and were going to win the natty, Smith-Schuster said, referring to the national championship.Josh Adams ran for 180 yards and DeShone Kizer passed for 220 yards and two scores for the Fighting Irish (4-8), who finished their worst season since 2007 with their largest margin of defeat this year.I thought we could play with anybody this year, said Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, who shrugged off suggestions his job could be in jeopardy. We just have not been able to sustain consistent performance for four quarters.Chris Finke, Kevin Stepherson and Equanimeous St. Brown caught TD passes for the Irish.TILLERYS MISTAKESNotre Dames frustration boiled over when defensive lineman Jerry Tillery made two particularly sketchy plays in the second half.Tillery first kicked USC running back AcaCedric Ware in the helmet while Ware was on the ground with an apparent head injury. Tillery then received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty a few minutes later when he stomped on prone USC offensive tackle Zach Banners foot.You just cant do stupid things like that, Notre Dame defensive lineman Jarron Jones said. Thats going to reflect on you as a player. Thats going to reflect on your character.Banner summed up the Trojans feelings with a reference to Tillerys jersey: (No.) 99 is dirty.REFEREE INJUREDReferee Ron Cherry left the game in the third quarter after getting flattened in an accidental collision with USC linebacker Michael Hutchings. Cherry appeared to be unconscious after hitting the turf, but eventually walked up the tunnel unaided. USC said Cherry was evaluated for a concussion at a nearby hospital, but should be released later Saturday.THE TAKEAWAYNotre Dame: This was an embarrassing end to an uncommonly ugly year for the Irish. Kelly will find little to salvage from this trip to LA, and Tillery was already receiving heavy online criticism for his dirty play before the game ended.USC: The Trojans have evolved into one of the nations best teams over the last two months. It happened slightly too late to get into the national title conversation, but Helton clearly harnessed USCs formidable talent heading into the postseason and 2017.UP NEXTUSC: An upper-tier bowl game.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '