Shepherd-Post 14

While not the most compelling issue from my viewpoint I did find the topic of the NCAA player wanting to form a union an interesting idea. I had never before thought of the conditions of college athletes. I simply did not think to wonder about their financial situations, how they affect retention rates, or if they were going to bed hungry. I always assumed that were like every other student on campus except they were just really good at their particular sport and had games every week and practice everyday. It was surprising to me that after petitioning to form a union that the players were allowed to because they are considered “employees”. After hearing this information I am blown away at why they aren’t treated as such. It seems to me if these students are “employees” then they should receive all the benefits of being employed such as decent health care. Something many athletes don’t receive even though they put their body through immense physical stress on a daily basis for the majority of the year.

I think the most rhetorically powerful moment was when the speaker used the example of how some players go to bed hungry because they have such limited funds and the scholarships provided for college athletes barely cover school. That was a moment that really made you stop and think about the current system and wonder why things like endorsements aren’t allowed for college level athletes. Overall this was a very interesting speech topic and brought to light an issue I was not aware of before.