It has become increasingly evident that there is a divide within the structure of college football, as student-athletes and NCAA executives are not in agreement with how athletes are treated.
In recent years the most popular debate surrounding the NCAA’s treatment of its players is whether or not student-athletes should receive a salary. Although that is still an ongoing debate, it is not the most recent one that has surfaced in the arena of college football.
In late January, former UCLA linebacker and president of the National College Players Association Ramogi Huma filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter and the Wildcats, who were asking for the right to unionize.
People believed that the sudden desire of players wanting to unionize was just another attempt to earn a salary, but according to Huma, the motion for unionization has nothing to do with giving college athletes a paycheck.
“When the NCAA ran away from the concussion issue that was the last straw,” Huma said in the board meeting on Jan. 30. “You want the players to have a say on their futures. Instead of having an athletic director or an administrator imposes their ideas. We would like them to sit down and talk to the players.”
According to the National College Players Association’s website, the players want minimized safety risks, higher scholarship amounts, assistance paying sports-related medical expenses, protected educational opportunities for student-athletes in good standing and an elimination of restrictions on players’ ability to earn commercial profit.
As far as safety is concerned, I completely support the idea that the sport needs to be made as safe as possible without drastically altering the nature of the game itself.
On the other hand, I do not support the idea that players should receive assistance paying sports-related medical expenses, protected educational opportunities for student-athletes in good standing and eliminated restrictions on players’ abilities to earn commercial profit.
We need to remember that being a college athlete is completely voluntary. When an athlete signs his or her letter of intent to play college sports, that athlete is well aware of the time commitment, financial, educational and medical implications that come along with playing sports at the collegiate level.
If there are athletes who do not feel comfortable accepting the risks and limitations that come with being a college athlete, the solution is simple: Don’t be involved with collegiate athletics.
If the NCAA gives into the unionization demands, the organization is essentially saying that the university’s student-athletes are of more value and importance than the non-athletes are.
Christopher Miller is a sophomore studying broadcast journalism and sport management and a writer for The Post. Should student-athletes have the right to unionize? Tell Christopher your thoughts at cm001111@ohiou.edu.
