INFLCR founder & CEO Jim Cavale has partnered with former NFLer Brandon Copeland to create Athletes.org (AO), a "membership organization open to all college athletes for free," according to Ross Dellenger of YAHOO SPORTS. AO is structured in a "similar way to a players association." Members are able to "join chapters within the organization based on the sport and conference in which they participate." Using a phone app, AO gives member athletes a "place to discuss and even vote on key issues" while providing "on-demand support through an array of experts in the legal and medical field." The group will "advocate for improvements such as medical coverage and scholarship protections." Cavale said that AO is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit "funded by a group of 'strategic partners.'" He "declined to reveal any of the partners aside from On3." Dellenger notes AO employs an "eight-person staff with plans to grow more," though the organization has "on retainer dozens of experts to assist athletes, including pro-bono attorneys, accountants and doctors." Cavale "made clear that Athletes.org is not a union and has no such plans of unionization." The organization is meant to “work collaboratively with college administrative leaders for the betterment of the industry” (YAHOO SPORTS, 8/23).
