January 31st: Northwestern Union

The world of college sports was changed forever on Tuesday. For the first time in history, members of the Northwestern University football team filed to join a workers’ union.

Led by quarterback Kain Colter, the movement attempts to get the players recognized as school employees and receive certain benefits that have, to this point, been unattainable for most college athletes. Colter cited healthcare for injuries beyond an athlete’s playing days as one such benefit the players were pursuing.

In their response, the NCAA declared their disappointment at the action, stating that playing college sports doesn’t make someone an employee and that the experience is meant to be about learning, something Colter and the group are failing to understand.

This is, though, quite the opposite of what is happening. Colter and his group are making an incredible education for themselves. They are looking at the way things are and critically thinking about what can be done to make things better.

In addition to better medical care, Colter’s action for unionization includes 10 additional goals, ranging from better graduation rates and more scholarship money for players. In each of the goals, the focus moves drastically from treating these people as athletic resources and instead treating them as students, employees, and valued individuals in the school community.

This all comes at a culminating moment in the growing movement to protect the rights of college athletes. For several years, analysts have argued the merits of paying college players for the use of their name. Why, after all, should the school rake in dollars because of the fame and respect brought in by an individual, while leaving that person out in the cold.

At the beginning of this college season, reining Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel was accused of being paid to sign autographs which would have violated NCAA rules. After a long investigation, it became pretty clear that there was a problem. If Manziel was suspended, his school would suffer huge losses, both athletic and financial. If they didn’t suspend him, the NCAA would come away looking totally impotent, incapable of policing their policies as necessary. In the end, the half-game suspension Manziel served was seen as a copout, and the issue only gained intensity.

All things considered, the Northwestern representatives are demanding action in a way that is constructive, rather than simply defying authority. They are attempting to find a spot at the table, rather than ignore the structure of leadership altogether.

It doesn’t really matter if you agree that college players should unionize or not. That isn’t the point. This isn’t meant to be an answer, it’s meant to get the ball rolling on the discussion. Northwestern University’s players took the action they deemed necessary to defend their rights as student-athletes, not with the attitude of defiance but focusing on debate.

While the NCAA may not like it, accusing the students of failing to see the learning opportunities in the situation is downright ludicrous. There is a lot of learning that happens on a college campus. If Kain Colter and his teammates can walk away from NU knowing how to stand up for what they believe in a respectful yet decisive way, then the school and NCAA have done their jobs.