A number of college football players, including quarterback Vad Lee and several others from Georgia Tech, lent their support to a protest against the way NCAA treats its student-athletes yesterday. The Jackets’ players involved wore “APU” on their wristbands and towels during a nationally televised 28-20 victory over North Carolina as a way to call attention to high profile issues such as financial compensation and treatment of concussons. Five Georgia offensive linemen and Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter also took part in the protest during other nationally televised games.
“APU” are the initials for “All Players United,” an effort led by the National College Players Association, which is pushing an agenda that calls for massive NCAA reform.
NCPA President Ramogi Huma told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” the protest was months in the making through weekly conference calls and indicated the gesture will continue throughout the season. The organization hopes to use TV as the preferred vehicle to reach the largest audience with its message.
According to the NCPA’s website, the goals of the organization include:
- Unity among college athletes and fans from different campuses seeking NCAA reform.
- Support for the players who joined concussion lawsuits against the NCAA, which could force the NCAA to finally take meaningful steps to minimize brain trauma in contact sports and provide resources for current and former players suffering with brain injuries.”
- Support for the players who stepped up in the O’Bannon v. NCAA, EA Sports lawsuit regarding the use of players images/likeliness, which could unlock billions of dollars in resources for current, future and former players.”
- Standing behind individual players being harmed by NCAA rules.
The NCPA. which is supported by the U.S. Steelworkers union, said in a statement it also wants to funnel a portion of more than $1 billion in new TV revenue to guarantee “basic protections” like scholarship renewals for permanently-injured players; ensure players are not stuck with sports-related medical bills; increase scholarships by $3,000 to $5,000 to cover the full cost of attendance; minimize brain trauma in contact sports; and establish a trust fund to increase graduation rates.
Right now, the “All Players United” movement seems limited in scope but it could grow if the Ed O’Bannon class-action lawsuit against the NCAA is certified. Five current college football players who joined the suit are scheduled to be deposed over the next month. A two-year old concusison lawsuit against the NCAA is scheduled for mediation in November. Another concussion lawsuit, led by O’Bannon’s attorney Michael Hausfeld, was also recently filed.
