In an athlete-driven national movement, football players
from Georgia Tech, Georgia, and Northwestern took the field Saturday wearing
gear they had marked up in protest to the NCAA’s treatment of athletes on
issues ranging from compensation to player safety. Student athletes from these
teams marked their wristbands and towels with APU standing for---All Players United----in
a show of support against how the NCAA treats college athletes.
The issue at stake is whether student athletes should be
compensated by the NCAA. The argument the APU makes is that these student athletes
risk their bodies for the profit of others. This hot topic of debate has some
feel as though student athletes are compensated enough by scholarships, while others
feel as though a scholarship is not enough. The NCAA has stated that they will
not compensate student athletes. They are also currently battling a lawsuit from
current and former student athletes regarding to how the NCAA profits off the
names and likableness of its student athletes. (See my article on the O’BannonLawsuit) The NCAA has continued to see their support drop and public showings
such as these by the athletes will only draw more criticism. I understand where
critics of compensating student athletes come from; however, I feel that
college athletes should be compensated in some way other than just from
scholarships.
