Waldrep v. Texas Employers Insurance Ass'n
21 S.W.3d 692, 2000 WL 766270 (2000)
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Rule of Law:
A scholarship student-athlete is not an employee of a university for workers' compensation purposes as a matter of law. Employee status is a question of fact for a jury, determined by analyzing whether a 'contract of hire' existed and whether the university had the 'right of control' over the details of the student's activities.
Facts:
- Alvis Kent Waldrep, Jr., a highly recruited high school football player, was pursued by numerous universities, including Texas Christian University (TCU).
- During recruitment, a TCU assistant coach assured Waldrep and his family that TCU would 'take care of them' and that Waldrep would retain his scholarship even if an injury prevented him from playing.
- Waldrep signed a 'Letter of Intent' to play football for TCU, which bound him to the school and penalized him for attending another in the same conference.
- He also signed a 'Financial Aid Agreement' wherein TCU promised to pay for his room, board, tuition, fees, and provide a small monthly stipend, contingent on his meeting academic and institutional requirements.
- Both Waldrep and TCU understood their relationship was governed by the rules of the Southwest Athletic Conference and the NCAA, which aimed to maintain a clear distinction between amateur and professional sports.
- In October 1974, while playing in a football game for TCU, Waldrep sustained a severe spinal cord injury that resulted in paralysis below the neck.
Procedural Posture:
- Alvis Kent Waldrep, Jr. filed a workers’ compensation claim in 1991 for an injury sustained in 1974.
- The Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission awarded benefits to Waldrep.
- Texas Employers Insurance Association (TEIA), TCU's insurer, appealed the Commission's award to the district court, a trial court of general jurisdiction.
- Following a trial de novo in the district court, a jury found that Waldrep had failed to prove he was an employee of TCU at the time of his injury.
- The district court rendered a take-nothing judgment against Waldrep.
- Waldrep, as appellant, appealed the district court's judgment to the Texas Court of Appeals.
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Issue:
Is a scholarship football player an 'employee' of the university for purposes of the Texas Workers' Compensation Act as a matter of law?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice Lee Yeakel
No, a scholarship football player is not an employee of the university as a matter of law for workers' compensation purposes. The question of employment status is a determination for the jury based on the facts of the case. The court reasoned that there was legally sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude that Waldrep was not an employee. First, the jury could have found there was no 'contract of hire,' a prerequisite for an employment relationship. The court noted that both Waldrep and TCU's actions were consistent with an intention for Waldrep to be an amateur student-athlete, not a professional employee, as demonstrated by their adherence to NCAA rules prohibiting 'pay for play.' Factors indicating a non-employment relationship included that TCU never paid Waldrep a salary, placed him on its payroll, or withheld taxes from his financial aid, and Waldrep never reported the aid as income. Furthermore, because the scholarship would continue even if he were injured and could not play, TCU lacked the ability to 'fire' him like a typical employee. Second, even if a contract existed, the jury could have found that TCU lacked the requisite 'right to control' the means and details of Waldrep’s work. While coaches controlled football-related activities, TCU did not control all of Waldrep's activities as a student, and his ability to participate in football was contingent on maintaining academic eligibility. Because there was more than a scintilla of evidence supporting the jury’s finding that Waldrep was not an employee, the appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment.
Analysis:
This decision establishes that a scholarship athlete is not automatically considered an employee under Texas workers' compensation law. The ruling emphasizes the importance of the parties' intent, particularly their adherence to NCAA amateurism rules, in distinguishing a scholarship from wages in a 'contract of hire.' By treating employee status as a question of fact rather than law, the court reinforced the traditional 'contract of hire' and 'right of control' tests in the novel context of college athletics. The court's explicit limitation of its holding to the facts of 1974 signals that future cases, under the modern, more commercialized landscape of college sports, might yield a different result.
