If you hate the idea of college players being paid, then you are definitely going to hate this.
In a historic move by a group of Northwestern football players, led by former quarterback Kain Colter, the group is attempting to create a union.
This is the full statement released by the players on Jan. 28.
“We Northwestern football players are grateful for our opportunity to play football for a prestigious university and athletic program. However, just as other athletes who compete in multibillion dollar industries have done, we must secure and maintain comprehensive protections by asserting the rights afforded to us under labor laws. We are not taking these measures out of any mistreatment from Northwestern. However, we recognize the need to eliminate unjust NCAA rules that create physical, academic and financial hardships for college athletes across the nation. To remain silent while players are denied justice is to be complicit in inflicting injustice on future generations of college athletes.”
If you thought the NCAA was made a fool when they only hit Aggies’ quarterback Johnny Manziel with a half-game suspension, then you better just grab your popcorn for this one.
I make no effort to hide my disdain for the NCAA. For years, the organization has financially prostituted student-athletes on all levels. However, the idea of a college players union will just pour more gasoline on the already lit dumpster fire that is the NCAA.
This group of athletes is working in conjunction with the National College Players Association, led by the organizations president, Ramogi Huma. Huma has filed a petition in Chicago with the National Labor Relations Board.
According to the NCPA’s website, NCPAnow.org, the organization has 11 goals.
1. To minimize college athletes’ brain trauma.
2. Raise the scholarship amount.
3. Prevent players from being paying sports-related medical expenses.
4. Increase graduation rates.
5. Protect educational opportunities for student-athletes in good standing.
6. Prohibit universities from using permanent injury suffered during athletics as a reason to reduce/eliminate a scholarship.
7. Establish and enforce uniform safety guidelines in all sports to help prevent serious injuries and avoidable deaths.
8. Eliminate restrictions on legitimate employment and players’ ability to directly benefit from commercial opportunities.
9. Â Prohibit punishment of college athletes that have no committed a violation.
10. Guarantee that college athletes are granted athletic release from their university if they wish to transfer schools.
11. Allow college athletes of all sports the ability to transfer schools one time without punishment.
Hide the women and children, they want to help improve graduation rates and keep their colleges from screwing them over if they get injured making that school money.
The fun one is number eight, the ability for players to benefit directly from commercial opportunities.
This is the one that sticks out to me. In college athletics, you can’t profit off of your name. Everyone else can, everyone except the athlete. I will never be able to possibly understand this. I will never understand how a player like Fred Flenorl can suffer a severe neck injury for his school, but can’t sell an autograph to a fan for himself and his family. This is what will cause the eventual downfall of the NCAA. There are athletes all over the country that struggle financially.
This isn’t an FCS vs. FBS discussion. This is a discussion about the livelihood of players who are risking their bodies so that everyone except themselves can profit. Not all of these players are on full-rides. Some of them aren’t even on scholarships.
This isn’t just a discussion about how to get college athletes paid; although, that is a major part of it. This is a discussion about improving the safety and overall well-being of student-athletes everywhere.
The problem is that these student-athletes are viewed as just that, student-athletes. It’s difficult for people, myself included, to realize how much money these ‘student-athletes’ create each year. But I’m sure it ends with -illion.
Soon, that will all change. Soon, they will be recognized as employees of universities. Hopefully, Northwestern is the start of that change.
