Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald 'disappointed' in QB's decision to participate in APU

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BleedGopher

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per CBS:

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald told CBSSports.com Tuesday he was “disappointed” that quarterback Kain Colter's participation in the All Players United movement was not vetted through team channels.

Colter was the highest profile name attached to the awareness campaign that emerged out of the quarterback's participation in the National College Players Association. Twenty-eight players, from Georgia, Georgia Tech and Northwestern, displayed the initials “APU” somewhere on their equipment on Saturday.

“We have a platform here in the program that we've had for six years – a leadership council for dialogue on things,” Fitzgerald said. “We meet every Monday. The last question I ask the guys, ‘Is there anything to know that I don't know?” and that didn't come up.

“I told him I was disappointed in him, not that he believes in the cause and not that he was taking a role in that but … what we try to do collectively is team focused.”

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...n-quarterbacks-decision-to-participate-in-apu

Go Gophers!!
 

I thought this was going to be about Squishees.
 






GopherInPittsburgh said:
The Northwestern cost of attendance is $63,228. They get 5 years to play 4. Their scholarships end up worth at least $316,140. Guess that doesn't mean much though.

http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/financial-aid/tuition-fees-and-expenses.html
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I thought that the goal of a Northwestern education was to foster an independent, critical thought process with the freedom to test boundaries. When you're given a scholarship, irrespective of how it's earned, you do not surrender your soul to some arbitrary authority. That may be the case if you play at an SEC school, but not at Northwestern.
 


maroon and gold said:
I thought that the goal of a Northwestern education was to foster an independent, critical thought process with the freedom to test boundaries. When you're given a scholarship, irrespective of how it's earned, you do not surrender your soul to some arbitrary authority. That may be the case if you play at an SEC school, but not at Northwestern.
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GopherInPittsburgh said:
The Northwestern cost of attendance is $63,228. They get 5 years to play 4. Their scholarships end up worth at least $316,140. Guess that doesn't mean much though.

http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/financial-aid/tuition-fees-and-expenses.html
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So I guess if you wear a "F*ck my work, F*ck my boss," button you should be praised for independent thought and keep your job? This is basically it.
 




highwayman said:
So I guess if you wear a "F*ck my work, F*ck my boss," button you should be praised for independent thought and keep your job? This is basically it.
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No, this is not an employer employee relationship.
 





Dean S said:
Coach is out of bounds.
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You're on a team and tha the group of individuals comes before the individual. If you want to make an individual statement, seek permission to do so. Saying you're disappointed as the leader of this team is out of bounds? Ugh.
 

I've said it before on this board and I will repeat myself. College football is a violent game in which young men agree to put themselves in harms way for our amusement. Every year almost every major college football team has several players injured to the point that they are out for a year and many many have at least one that is permanently disabled.

If there were a single industry in the US with an OSHA reported injury rate as high as college football there would be holy hell raised, including Congressional hearings in both the Democratic Senate and the Republican House. I love college football, but had I lived in Ancient Rome I would never have missed an outing in the Coliseum. Thank goodness parents are willing to subject their kids to a sport that makes underground mining and crab fishing look like safe endeavors. I love this game.

Kick that kid off Northwestern's team, he's going to ruin it for all of us!
 

ncgo4 said:
I've said it before on this board and I will repeat myself. College football is a violent game in which young men agree to put themselves in harms way for our amusement. Every year almost every major college football team has several players injured to the point that they are out for a year and many many have at least one that is permanently disabled.

If there were a single industry in the US with an OSHA reported injury rate as high as college football there would be holy hell raised, including Congressional hearings in both the Democratic Senate and the Republican House. I love college football, but had I lived in Ancient Rome I would never have missed an outing in the Coliseum. Thank goodness parents are willing to subject their kids to a sport that makes underground mining and crab fishing look like safe endeavors. I love this game.

Kick that kid off Northwestern's team, he's going to ruin it for all of us!
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So why on earth do "young men agree" to play college football? Coaches must have to search long and hard to find enough high school athletes willing to pull the plow and risk life and limb to begrudgingly accept the paltry benefits of an athletic scholarship. It's a wonder that rosters get filled across the country. Nobody wants any part of putting themselves in harm's way like this. WON'T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!11!

Your examples are simply not apt. The Coliseum? Gladiators, lions eating christians, etc. is similar to 18-23 year old men receiving athletic scholarships to voluntarily participate in an athletic endeavor? This isn't slavery (though the South Park episode about the NCAA was hilarious). Nothing binds these adults to this and they can leave at any time, unlike ancient rome.

And the industry/OSHA analogy...my god. I'm not sure where to even start on that one.
 

Gregg Doyel: Time to pay college football players -- changing times, money say so

The business of college football has changed dramatically -- especially in the last few decades -- and it has changed for damn near everyone. For everyone but the players, that is. Salaries, stadium seating and ticket prices have skyrocketed. The compensation for the athletes we're watching? Stagnated.

http://www.cbssports.com/general/wr...otball-players----changing-times-money-say-so

Go Gophers!!
 

ncgo4 said:
I've said it before on this board and I will repeat myself. College football is a violent game in which young men agree to put themselves in harms way for our amusement. Every year almost every major college football team has several players injured to the point that they are out for a year and many many have at least one that is permanently disabled.

If there were a single industry in the US with an OSHA reported injury rate as high as college football there would be holy hell raised, including Congressional hearings in both the Democratic Senate and the Republican House. I love college football, but had I lived in Ancient Rome I would never have missed an outing in the Coliseum. Thank goodness parents are willing to subject their kids to a sport that makes underground mining and crab fishing look like safe endeavors. I love this game.

Kick that kid off Northwestern's team, he's going to ruin it for all of us!
Click to expand...

Players play to amuse us? I thought it was because they love to play football and have hopes of playing professionally.
 

highwayman said:
So I guess if you wear a "F*ck my work, F*ck my boss," button you should be praised for independent thought and keep your job? This is basically it.
Click to expand...

Agree 100%. One thing I've been taught over the years....your loyalty is toward those who sign your paycheck (or in this case your scholarship).
 

Dean S said:
Your putting a price on freedom of association. Priceless!
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We have plenty of freedom dean.
If northwestern could pay players, would Kain even get $10k?
 

Div 1 college football is a business. The highest paid employees in almost every State is a head football coach. The athletes are employees by almost every definition. They are told what to do, when and how to do it, and where to be. In exchange for this they are remunerated with food, board, tuition and a small stipend. The players at this level are not in it because they like to play a game. They are in it exclusively for our amusement and in the hope that they are individually good enough that they will be able to amuse us at an even higher level. For an even more extravagant stipend.

It's the amused, the paying fans in the stands and at home buying the advertised beer, that make the whole thing work.

Let me pose a question. Let's say someone offered to send your son/daughter to MIT for free for five years. There are only two provisos. First they will have to gain 35 pounds and keep that weight on for the full five years. The second is that 6 days a week for the first 4 months of each year they would be required to run a gauntlet with the following probabilities:
1. About a 50% chance that sometime during the five years they will be injured.
2. About a 20% chance that sometime during the five years they will be injured seriously enough to require surgery.
3. About a 5% chance that their injuries will be serious enough to affect their quality of life forever.
4. About a 1/2 of 1% chance that they will suffer permanent brain damage.

Do you send your son/daughter to MIT? Just saying. Incidentally, this was something my family dealt with. My grand daughter was an International Elite Gymnast, the girl's answer to football. She suffered strains, broken bones and two major concussions . She had major surgery once. When she was 12 my daughter considered taking her out of gymnastics but decided not to. She still does not know if she made the right decision. I can also tell you that Russian gymnastics coaches are every bit as abusive as any football head coach.
 

maroon and gold said:
Do you have any clue what the APU is about? I didn't think so.
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Actually, I do. I would agree to pay players if they give up their scholarships. And books. And meals. And rooms. And free food. An free tutors. And personal trainers. And free health care.
 

ncgo4 said:
Let me pose a question. Let's say someone offered to send your son/daughter to MIT for free for five years. There are only two provisos. First they will have to gain 35 pounds and keep that weight on for the full five years. The second is that 6 days a week for the first 4 months of each year they would be required to run a gauntlet with the following probabilities:
1. About a 50% chance that sometime during the five years they will be injured.
2. About a 20% chance that sometime during the five years they will be injured seriously enough to require surgery.
3. About a 5% chance that their injuries will be serious enough to affect their quality of life forever.
4. About a 1/2 of 1% chance that they will suffer permanent brain damage..
Click to expand...

Holy crap, this is a doozie. I would LOVE to see the link for these statistics, where your percentages came from.

Hundreds of thousands of kids play college football; a HUGE percentage of them are bench players, role players, never seeing any significant playing time whatsoever, and yet they still receive those same scholarships that the starters do. Injuries?

Wow. All. Credibility. Lost. Nice work...
 

I wonder if we'll see Moses Alipate roaming the sidelines/riding the bench with his "Official APU" sweatband. He is the posterchild for hard work and discipline.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Holy crap, this is a doozie. I would LOVE to see the link for these statistics, where your percentages came from.

Hundreds of thousands of kids play college football; a HUGE percentage of them are bench players, role players, never seeing any significant playing time whatsoever, and yet they still receive those same scholarships that the starters do. Injuries?

Wow. All. Credibility. Lost. Nice work...
Click to expand...

A surprising number of bench players get hurt in practice. You don't hear about it because it doesn't affect Saturday. A lady at work has a son who was 20th in line to play DL (slight exaggeration), and he had to quit the game due to back problems that just aren't going away. He'll probably have issues for years, if not the rest of his life due to the abuse he put his body through.

I don't know if those stats are right, but just think of all the players you know about that had surgery last year during or after the season. Then you add several that you don't know about because they're guys who never saw the field or it was kept quiet or considered "minor". I don't know if his stats are real or BS, but they're probably closer than you think.

That said, it's a team sport. If you choose to be part of the team, you have to act as a team. Just because it is a dangerous sport doesn't give him license to do whatever he wants.

My other question is the stats for women's soccer are similar to football. Should they get paid too?
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
A surprising number of bench players get hurt in practice. You don't hear about it because it doesn't affect Saturday. A lady at work has a son who was 20th in line to play DL (slight exaggeration), and he had to quit the game due to back problems that just aren't going away. He'll probably have issues for years, if not the rest of his life due to the abuse he put his body through.

I don't know if those stats are right, but just think of all the players you know about that had surgery last year during or after the season. Then you add several that you don't know about because they're guys who never saw the field or it was kept quiet or considered "minor". I don't know if his stats are real or BS, but they're probably closer than you think.

That said, it's a team sport. If you choose to be part of the team, you have to act as a team. Just because it is a dangerous sport doesn't give him license to do whatever he wants.

My other question is the stats for women's soccer are similar to football. Should they get paid too?
Click to expand...

doubtful.

Also, surgery is a misnomer here. A lot of surgeries are performed on athletes to allow correct healing that a non-player (you or I) would not normally have done. Since we're throwing out numbers I'll say 50%. I've had broken toes and fingers that healed in all directions. My shoulders are beat. I should have had surgery years ago.

Are athletes more prone to injury? Yes? More than construction workers? Doubtful.


Last part: what about football players for schools whose football program sucks and doesn't draw enough fans to even pay for football?
 

​
fryguy22 said:
did you read a single word from the article, or just the headline?
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First, are you the NSA?

Second, if the coach has a meeting every week and didn't become informed about a players private thoughts on a matter, too bad for the coach. The coach is a moron if he thinks having regular meetings trumps a persons private thoughts. His disappointment is all about power and control. As minor a display of support the hand written wristband has on the matter makes his comment about the union even more pitiful.

If the union took hold, these kids would earn something they don't have as football players, the right to the protection under the law for things like disability. This is a major issue, but the wristband is barely speech. And, only control freaks would try to deny this kid the right to organize a movement. In these United States, it is common to tell people they have "no right" when the law says they do.

This type of debate has poked up on GH before, and many a wrong MBA executive, or mere fool, has tried to make claims that people don' t have these rights, which they plainly do. This is a novel and unique movement, which has a high likelihood of failure. I, for one will applaud the effort to organize by these students.

I also think they will need a special law put in place to make any effort of theirs stick. Just to get a sponsor to a bill would be a major moral victory for them.

The coach was a fool for saying what he thought out loud. He could have accomplished more by just not sharing his opinion and letting the weight of the change overwhelm these students.
 

highwayman said:
doubtful.

Also, surgery is a misnomer here. A lot of surgeries are performed on athletes to allow correct healing that a non-player (you or I) would not normally have done. Since we're throwing out numbers I'll say 50%. I've had broken toes and fingers that healed in all directions. My shoulders are beat. I should have had surgery years ago.

Are athletes more prone to injury? Yes? More than construction workers? Doubtful.


Last part: what about football players for schools whose football program sucks and doesn't draw enough fans to even pay for football?
Click to expand...

At Fleur Daniel, they start their construction day with a safety meeting. Having seen the materials they train their safety managers, the football stat comparison has come up. They had construction workers with fewer injuries than the average football team. I know they are but one company, and that was from several years ago, but it rings true from memory when they were a client of mine.
 

highwayman said:
Actually, I do. I would agree to pay players if they give up their scholarships. And books. And meals. And rooms. And free food. An free tutors. And personal trainers. And free health care.
Click to expand...

And, again, I don't think you do. They're asking for an increase in the stipend ... not some NFL salary.

And none of that stuff is free. It's paid for by kids working their tail off. And getting their tail broken. Who was that poor kid who ended up with a permanently damaged arm due to a brachial plexus injury at Michigan?

Just for kicks and giggles ...What do you think is the incremental cost (to good old state U) of tuition (not books,meals,room,food,tutors - just tuition) for a football player?? I would argue that it's pretty close to zero.
 

Dean -
Isn't Fitzgerald saying he's disappointed Colter didn't bring it up first before doing it? He didn't say anything as far as I could tell that he's against the movement or would absolutely not allow it.
Maybe this is something they talked about as a team rule that these types of things get brought up before players do it on their own. That seems perfectly fair, unless you're assuming Fitz would have said no (but we don't know that as far as I can tell).
 

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