College Players Finding Their Voices, Making an Impact

Now that come college football players have begun speaking out in regard to the current situations in college athletics, their strength should continue to grow.

The debate over the amateurism of college football players has been going on for some time. Now in the face of recent events, the collective voices of players are beginning to be heard. 

Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields are two of the most recognizable faces and names in college football in 2020. Each play for one of the top programs in the country, and play the most visible position, so it's not surprising that when these two began speaking, people have listened. 

Last week Fields, who was a Heisman Trophy candidate for Ohio State before the pandemic caused his conference to cancel their season, started a petition online to attempt to shame the Big-10 to reconsider and play this season. 

Fields petition has drawn support from parents of his Buckeye teammates along with those from fellow Big-10 parents at Nebraska, Penn St., Iowa, and Michigan. 

As of Saturday, the petition had 56,931 signatures, now just over two days later, on Monday, it has 230,812 signatures. 

Fields have been vocal about his position on social media, along with Lawrence and other well know players. Some believe this has caused fear among the leaders of both their conference and the NCAA. 

While I'm old-school and do not believe that schools should directly pay college athletes who are already receiving free tuition, room, board, and clothing for their efforts, I'm a proponent of the new name, image & likeness legislation. 

What's the difference? 

College athletics began as a way to help athletes with unique talents gain a college education. Those athletes who get a free ride are supposed to be there for the knowledge first. However, we all know that today, a majority are only there to bide their time and hope to earn a shot at professional sports. 

For those using colleges as a tool toward a professional career, let them earn money off their name image & likeness from outside entities who are willing to pay them for their services, just like the rest of us. 

For those who are there to earn a degree, they too can benefit from NIL while also reaping the long-term rewards of free education. Something that the regular college student today is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to obtain. 

Yes, the cost of higher education is ridiculous and growing higher yearly. Still, without some reform there, the cost to the average student will continue to increase. At the same time, athletes get access to the same degree programs for nothing if they choose to take advantage of the opportunity before them. 

Athletes who earn their degrees will leave school debt-free and have the ability to earn higher incomes throughout their lifetime. The ability to leave college not owing hundreds of thousands of dollars is in itself payment. 

It's something that I and others my age and even today's average student won't benefit from because we weren't, or aren't athletes. 

Bravo to Fields, Lawrence, and the rest for stepping up and using their platform and the conferences and NCAA should be scared to death. 

Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven.