Op-Ed: Unionization of NCAA Athletes

Times are a changing for the NCAA honchos and its underlings. All because Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter decided to take a class about labor relations and the modern workplace. The results of his and other football players' efforts has resulted in the unionization of Northwestern football players and has created an uproar of sorts for the NCAA.

But the question is, are college football players or any other college athlete, deserving of a union?

For decades, players, many of whom do not even have to pay for their expensive educations due to their abilities which enabled them to get scholarships, have gone to play for universities with the understanding that being a college athlete, especially with a highly visible commercial sport like football, is like having an internship that will possibly lead to a paying job after the internship is completed. Why should these players all of a sudden be entitled to pay?

They get benefits many other college students don't get, unless they come from wealthy families. Unlimited access to tutors on the road, class schedules that are worked around their workout, and play schedules, access to new cars, great apartments, etc.

The best of the best.

Though of course, many of these things remain "unspoken" about, everyone else is aware of it happening. And as of lately, many programs like USC and Ohio State have gotten punishments for allowing these same things to happen that have been going on as long as anyone can basically remember.

So why are these players being big babies? That's the way I see it. By unionizing what these players are saying is that enough is never enough. Just like all of the recent lawsuits coming from unpaid interns at big companies. Being an unpaid intern is part of the gig!

This unionization movement is only going to hurt the players and their programs. What about smaller schools that can't afford to pay for their athletes?

LINK: Pat Fitzgerald Urges Players To Vote Against Unionization

It is them who is going to get hurt in the long run. The players are only hurting themselves by asking for pay for their "internship" and fighting a system that maybe has gaping holes in it, but has managed to live on for decades unchanged for the most part.

I understand there are points to be made for the idea of unionization of the players, but overall it seems to me that these players aren't looking far enough ahead into the future to see the damage they could be doing. Grow up!

Play football and enjoy your god given talents that has enabled you to have opportunities to go to schools and have experiences that many of us could only dream about!

Stop whining like you are slaves without a choice to have the amazing lives many of you are living.