The College Football Players Association, an organization advocating for unionization and collective bargaining, announced Monday that Stanford has become the first team to organize a player-led chapter.
CFBPA executive director Jason Stahl said the goal is for other Atlantic Coast Conference schools join Stanford in forming chapters. That would create momentum for unionization and the ability for players to bargain with conferences over working conditions.
Stanford players elected offensive lineman Fisher Anderson and linebacker Ernest Cooper as their representatives.
“Stanford has been a pioneer and innovator not just in football but as a school in general,” Cooper said “This first-ever current player-led chapter at Stanford is just another example of this innovation. We want to be leaders in college football and show other schools how they can create a chapter on their campus because we believe this is the future of college football.”
Anderson said the CFBPA will play a role in giving players a voice in all aspects of governing college football.
“Over the past five years, college football has been rocked back and forth by the waves,” he said. “When a CFBPA chapter becomes a reality on every college football team, it would put down an anchor where there isn't one right now for the sport. The chapters can then become the building blocks for conference-wide collective bargaining agreements, which would bring sustainability, transparency and player protections to a sport in need of all three.”
The NCAA and conferences have been working with federal legislators on a Senate bill that would grant the NCAA an antitrust exemption to be able to enforce rules such as a salary cap and transfer restrictions. Some athletic directors have suggested collective bargaining as an alternative if federal legislation is not passed, but a number of obstacles related to giving college athletes employee status would have to be cleared.
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
FILE - Stanford plays against Colorado in an NCAA college football game at Standford Stadium in Stanford, Calif., Nov. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
SEATTLE (AP) — Police searched for a second suspect Monday after gunfire erupted at a crowded food festival beneath Seattle's Space Needle, leaving three people dead and four others wounded, including a toddler. Another suspect was arrested earlier.
Investigators believe the two suspects were shooting at each other Sunday and, although one remained on the loose, Seattle Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis told a news conference Sunday night that there was no ongoing threat to the public.
Police did not have a description of the outstanding suspect, he said.
“We’re still trying to figure this out,” Davis said. Police did not immediately respond to phone and email messages early Monday.
Two people died at the scene and a third died at a hospital. They were described as two men, ages 19 and 44, and a 56-year-old woman.
The four wounded, including a 2-year-old boy, were hospitalized. The boy, who was in satisfactory condition Monday, was the only one still in a hospital, a hospital spokesperson said. Two men, ages 23 and 27, and a woman, age 39, were discharged.
Davis couldn't say if any of the victims were involved in the confrontation.
The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. Sunday in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual three-day festival that draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers.
Dozens of officers were providing security at the event and some saw one of the suspects firing, Davis said. One suspect surrendered at the scene, but the other fled.
A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area around the sprawling Seattle Center campus.
Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just gotten food from a crepe vendor when gunfire broke out.
“We were about to start eating, then heard someone yell something, then we saw people start to run,” Hunter said. “So we took off running, too.”
“We were right next to him when it started, so we took off running,” Hunter added.
Hunter said that in the scramble to find safety, she and others ran into the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum.
In the chaos, many vendors bolted toward the exits, abandoning their food stands. Hours later, some milled outside the police tape, wondering when they would be allowed to collect their tents, food and cooking gear.
Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began yelling “shooter” and frantically running.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
After the initial panic, new guests continued to arrive unaware of what had happened and were told by police to leave, he said.
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and turned to see a rush of people fleeing.
“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said, adding that was when he heard gunshots.
“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter,” he said.
After he escorted his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene to take photos and saw multiple victims on the ground, Wakonabo said.
The festival started in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees, according to its website.
Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Seattle, Annika Wolters in Bangkok and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
A Seattle Police officer sets up police line tape at the site of a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An unidentified man is led into the scene by police after they responded to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, center, speaks at a news conference after a shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Police respond to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An unidentified man is led into the scene by police after they responded to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A Seattle Police officer walks through tents with colorful toys at the scene of a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A crime scene photographer arrives as law enforcement examines the scene following a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
