Not (Just) about the Money: Contextualizing the Labor Activism of College Football Players

Abstract

In recent years, the business of college athletics has become a touchstone issue in U.S. public culture. Growing critical attention to the topic can be attributed in part to the work of civil rights historian Taylor Branch, whose 2011 article in The Atlantic, "The Shame of College Sports," argued that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) oversees the exploitation of college athletes. "Two of the noble principles on which the NCAA justifies its existence-'amateurism' and the 'student-athlete'-are cynical hoaxes, legalistic confections propagated by the universities so they can exploit the skills and fame of young athletes." 1 In addition to Branch's piece, the acclaimed 2013 documentary film Schooled, based largely on his analysis, helped to invigorate a national conversation about the economics of college athletics. 2 Media discussion of the issue has remained rather narrowly focused on questions of dollars and cents-whether college athletes in the so-called revenue-generating sports (men's basketball and football) ought to be paid beyond their current scholarships in light of the vast and increasing amount of revenue their labor generates. Advocates of "pay-for-play" cite figures like the exorbitant salaries that make head coaches the highest-paid public employees in most states and television contracts like ESPN's recent 12-year, $5.64 billion deal to broadcast college football playoff games. 3 Defenders of the NCAA amateur model cite the fact that athletes are already compensated in the form of a "free college education," a commodity that, given rising tuition rates, grows increasingly valuable every year.

A Conceptual Model of the Emergence of Diversity and Inclusion Officers in Division I Collegiate Athletics

“…Black football players utilized their athletic labor as a bargaining tool to capture the attention of university personnel. Their protest exacerbated the significance of Black athletic labor to White neoliberal capitalist interests and resulted in some Black student organizations' demands being addressed (Gilbert, 2016). Moreover, these protests demonstrate how the domain of sport is intertwined with relevant social movements and underscore the cultural significance and visibility of intercollegiate athletics in the U.S. (Beyer & Hannah, 2000).…”

“Black Is Powerful”: A Gramscian Rhetorical Analysis of Post-Racialism at the University of Missouri

“…The campus experienced a few months of relatively small demonstrations, advocating for the end of racism on campus and demanding a comprehensive plan from the administration. In August, graduate assistants protesting the end of health care subsidies joined forces with Jonathan Butler, who had protested at Ferguson as well as organized resistance movements on campus to combat the rise in racist behavior (Gilbert, 2016). Despite receiving their health care subsidies for which they protested, graduate students would pledge their voices and help the black students at the University of Missouri in order to continue to push the administration to listen more closely to the concerns of students.…”

“…In October, during the university's homecoming parade, President Tim Wolfe was approached about his plan for solving the discrimination that was occurring at Missouri, and seemed to laugh off questions and ignore students, as bystanders began clashing with student protesters, invoking no real response from Wolfe or other members of the administration who were present at the parade. Gilbert (2016) writes that students participating in recent resistance demonstrations organized into what they named "Concerned Student 1950," named for the year the university began admitting black students. Concerned Student 1950 also demanded a formal apology from President Wolfe for his lack of care and perceived neglect of students at the parade; they also demanded his resignation for his lack of concern for the black students.…”

“…In the same week Concerned Student 1950 (CS1950) demanded President Wolfe's resignation, another swastika was drawn on the walls of a dormitory bathroom, and Wolfe met with the group in a private meeting to discuss solutions (Gilbert, 2016). Arriving at no agreement, Jonathan Butler, the student who joined graduate students and black students earlier in the year, announced a hunger strike until President Wolfe resigned, or was forced out by the Board of Curators.…”

“…The statement received national attention, paving the way for President Wolfe's resignation two days later. A number of concerns arose for the university upon the refusal to participate in football activities, including financial, contractual, and legal issues that threatened the university's status as a Division I athletic program (Gilbert, 2016). All in all, the football team's defiance made a statement loud enough that the administration could not ignore.…”