Major League Rodeo, Inc. and Its Constituent Members and Major League Rodeo Players Association

Major League Rodeo, Inc. (MLR) (plaintiff) was an association of professional rodeo teams that was founded in 1977. For its maiden 1978 season, MLR had teams in Colorado, Missouri, California, Utah, Texas, and Oklahoma. Each team played at least 14 home matches and 14 away matches in 1978. In fiscal 1978, MLR earned at least $281,000 in revenue, and MLR’s teams spent more than $50,000 on non-California suppliers. The Major League Rodeo Players Association (association) (plaintiff) sought to collectively bargain with MLR on behalf of rodeo contestants (players) that either (1) had a current contract with an MLR team (current players) or (2) had expired or terminated MLR contracts (free agents). However, MLR refused to recognize the association as its collective-bargaining counterpart. In August 1978, the association petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for recognition as the collective-bargaining entity for current players and free agents. MLR opposed the association’s petition, arguing that the NLRB had no jurisdiction because professional rodeo did not sufficiently involve interstate commerce and that even if the NLRB had jurisdiction, it should decline to assert jurisdiction as a discretionary matter because, among other things, MLR did not involve at least $500,000 of interstate commerce. MLR further argued that the association should not represent free agents along with current players because free agents had no expectation of future MLR employment. The association responded that, like other professional sports, MLR sufficiently involved interstate commerce for the NLRB to have and exercise jurisdiction. The association further argued that it should be allowed to represent free agents because free agents likely would seek future MLR employment and thus had similar interests as current players. The hearing officer ruled that the NLRB had and would exercise jurisdiction but that the association could not represent free agents in the same bargaining unit as current players. MLR appealed.