Dartmouth players may have been hesitant to continue pushing forward and set a precedent under a Trump-controlled NLRB unfriendly to unionization efforts.

The decision to withdraw the petition appeared to be an effort to preserve a favorable federal ruling that could have been in jeopardy under President-elect Donald J. Trump.

The Dartmouth men’s basketball team is dropping its attempt to unionize, ending a push to become the first college athletes to bargain for a contract in order to avoid a potentially damaging precedent from a National Labor Relations Board that soon will be controlled by Republicans.

The union representing the Dartmouth men’s basketball team requested Tuesday to withdraw the team’s petition to the National Labor Relations Board to unionize. The timing — the final hours of 2024 — was fitting in that the decision reflects what may lie ahead for the college sports labor movement.

The move is being made in order to avoid potential legal and political risks in anticipation of personnel changes within the NRLB with a new U.S. President.

Dartmouth College’s men’s basketball team is halting efforts to unionize, withdrawing an effort before a labor board with appointees named by President-elect Trump might consider it. “While our

The union representing the Dartmouth men's basketball team filed a request to withdraw the NLRB petition rather than take its chances with an unfriendly labor board likely to take over in the new presidential administration.