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

[highwayman]

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.

I had a decent, well thought-out and factual reply, but then I did a little investigation and thought "why bother?".

 

[Deleted_User]

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).

Team rules about pre-disclosure is a subterfuge for control. That is the opposite of fair. He is in a position of control and any discussion around a team rule designed as broadly as described is not there for mentorship. It is a fishing expedition and an intrusion.

 

[Unregistered User]

 

[fryguy22]

​

First, are you the NSA?

What? Am I being trolled? I have no idea what this means.

​

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.

I'm not sure something written on a star player's gear for a television audience, while representing the team that the coach is in charge of that's now being discussed nationwide, is quite the same as "private thoughts"

 

[Weaselyone]

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!

Yes. College football is much more dangerous than mining:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Big_Branch_Mine_disaster
And all other dangerous jobs including crab fishing:
http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/13/pf/dangerousjobs/index.htm

The only thing that makes college football comparable to these industries would be if you included the 1970 Marshall plane crash.

There are roughly 68,000 college football players any given year (32,000 on scholarship).
In 2002 there were 71 fatalities per 100,000 workers in the fishing industry. Being generous, one would expect 35 fatalities in college football that year. I can't seem to find any statistics on the numer of college football players killed while playing/practicing in 2002 to compare the numbers.

Given the recent memory of athletes like Ray Lewis and Aaron Hernandez, I would speculate that current and former college football players are probably responsible for more deaths than the number of deaths caused by the sport itself.

 

[Deleted_User]

What? Am I being trolled? I have no idea what this means.



I'm not sure something written on a star player's gear for a television audience, while representing the team that the coach is in charge of that's now being discussed nationwide, is quite the same as "private thoughts"

Yes, it is. No matter how open it is for all to see, the courts have viewed this as private. this is not debatable.

 

[Gopherguy0723]

The NCAA's healthcare isn't that great. It is extremely limited, and they don't cover expenses for what happened on the job after eligibility is up. It is a joke they don't pay these bills, a bigger joke that they can cut injured players from scholarship and not have to pay any bills, and the biggest joke of all is that they don't pay workman's comp.

The NCAA needs to go, and the players need a union. I wish all Gophers players would wear APU.