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The Changing World of College Football as Labor Unions Become Possible

While there has been no official mention of such things around the Southeastern Conference, changes in college athletics seem inevitable.
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Sports Illustrated's Rohan Nadkarni released a long story on Thursday, looking into the changing world of college athletics where players have found new power and are beginning to use it to enact changes on college campuses. 

The article, found here,  which is titled "College Football Players Need a Union Now More Than Ever," takes an in-depth look through recent happenings among players at several institutions, including UCLA, and Texas where a group of players bands together to force change. 

Nadkarni wrote this regarding the first effort where a group of college players at Northwestern attempted to form a players union at the college level. 

" It’s been six years since Northwestern’s football team tried to form the first union in the NCAA. Since then, only incremental progress has been made for the welfare of college athletes. And now, schools seem determined to play football during a deadly pandemic, without any input from players."   

This, like most other sensitive issues in our world at this time, will likely lead to long debates with division and disagreement with players, administrators, and fans all choosing sides for the argument. 

I'm not opposed to players being allowed to have a union, but most unions require members to pay dues for representation, which seems like another issue in and of itself as to how players, who in many instances do not have money for basic things could afford to join. 

 I think players should have a voice, especially in this day and time, where a pandemic is threatening the health and lives of those who contract it. But don't those players already have a choice of playing or not?

Yes, I know that's a topic for debate too, considering if players do not compete, then they jeopardize their scholarships, which would mean being forced to drop out of school or play the game. 

Isn't that a choice that the rest of us have made daily since this began?

Essential workers have been forced to work close to people known to have the virus, risking their lives for others. Yes, it's a choice they made to enter those professions, and it's a choice they make daily to continue in those fields. 

Life is about choices, and as young adults, sometimes we must make tough choices, including whether it is worth the risk involved to participate in any activity we enjoy.   

I'm not insensitive to the feelings of players, and I'm in no way saying they should be silent and play, but at the same time, they must make choices like the rest of us and to what is most important to them. 

It's a new day in the world of college athletics, and players deserve to be heard and respected. They now have the opportunity to earn money with their name, image, and likeness, though, for the majority of players, that won't lead to much new income. 

We in the media and fans want college football season. We need college football season, and the players do too, but in the end, will it be worth it in the grand scheme of the world to move forward and risk players health or force them to make these types of decisions that would likely impact them for the rest of their lives?

There are no easy answers to any of the issues facing college athletics, and I'm glad I do not have to make them.