[pefloresjr]

I don't see people on this board saying that the system should be kept as is, but I do see a number of people who think that the players' "demands" and their approach of "my way or the highway" by calling them demands and saying they'll boycott if they aren't all met are excessive

While it may be is true that all demands will not be met, asking for the moon is a negotiating tactic just like withholding labor is. Now #WeAreUnited has a call with Larry Scott today. This is the power of making large demands, organizing, and unifying. No way they would have this call if a few players just griped to each other. What will happen is anyone's guess, but if the players stay united, they will get a lot of what they want because they have more leverage than most groups moved to seek more rights and compensation.

I agree.  The response of some to this is surprising.  There seems to be an underlying response to the temerity of these student athletes for speaking up at all.  Some have basically said that an athletic scholarship is more than enough and that the student athletes are ungrateful brats for seeking any improvements.  I find it ironic that one of the responses to the "excessive" demands and threat to boycott of We Are United is to just shut down the athletic scholarships completely.  Isn't that just a threat to take away their scholarships and opportunity to enter the hallowed halls of higher education if they don't shut up and accept the deal that is offered to them?   

I think there are some similarities to the issues many grad students have raised around the country regarding pay for teaching classes.  There is a tradition of having grad students assist professors while they pursue their studies and there can be benefits to the grad students in doing so.  However, some institutions and departments have really come to rely on grad students to teach classes for free as part of their basic structure.  Some of them are using more and more free labor to improve their balance sheets.  Perhaps the relationship in those situations becomes more of a hybrid student/employee relationship that needs different terms.  

Institutions that have almost all the power in a relationship have never ceded that power because the group asking did so with quiet decorum and avoided the use of harsh words like "demands" and "boycott".  As I've said before, I don't even agree with all of their demands, but I am proud of them for unifying and fighting for improvements.  

Cheers,
Pete F.

[pefloresjr]

I don't see people on this board saying that the system should be kept as is, but I do see a number of people who think that the players' "demands" and their approach of "my way or the highway" by calling them demands and saying they'll boycott if they aren't all met are excessive

While it may be is true that all demands will not be met, asking for the moon is a negotiating tactic just like withholding labor is. Now #WeAreUnited has a call with Larry Scott today. This is the power of making large demands, organizing, and unifying. No way they would have this call if a few players just griped to each other. What will happen is anyone's guess, but if the players stay united, they will get a lot of what they want because they have more leverage than most groups moved to seek more rights and compensation.

I agree.  The response of some to this is surprising.  There seems to be an underlying response to the temerity of these student athletes for speaking up at all.  Some have basically said that an athletic scholarship is more than enough and that the student athletes are ungrateful brats for seeking any improvements.  I find it ironic that one of the responses to the "excessive" demands and threat to boycott of We Are United is to just shut down the athletic scholarships completely.  Isn't that just a threat to take away their scholarships and opportunity to enter the hallowed halls of higher education if they don't shut up and accept the deal that is offered to them?   

I think there are some similarities to the issues many grad students have raised around the country regarding pay for teaching classes.  There is a tradition of having grad students assist professors while they pursue their studies and there can be benefits to the grad students in doing so.  However, some institutions and departments have really come to rely on grad students to teach classes for free as part of their basic structure.  Some of them are using more and more free labor to improve their balance sheets.  Perhaps the relationship in those situations becomes more of a hybrid student/employee relationship that needs different terms.  

Institutions that have almost all the power in a relationship have never ceded that power because the group asking did so with quiet decorum and avoided the use of harsh words like "demands" and "boycott".  As I've said before, I don't even agree with all of their demands, but I am proud of them for unifying and fighting for improvements.  

Cheers,
Pete F.