as a former UW athlete — and somebody who advocates for labor rights for working class people (farmers, factory workers, hospitality etc) — I’m finding many of the comments on here about athletes transferring to quite telling.
for decades, athletes have been told to shut up and play, take your scholarship and don’t you even THINK about complaining.
they’ve been lied to by coaches in their own homes, manipulated by athletic departments and their own fans questioning their loyalty.
now, the players have power and are using it, and everybody is losing their minds.
are too many kids transferring? perhaps, but who are we to say?
but the way several of y’all talk about this teenagers is troubling, IMO.
in what other world are you forced to be somewhere you don’t want to be but if you even think about leaving, you’re called every bad name in the book?
the reason I brought up labor earlier is because that’s what student-athletes are: the labor.
they work for scholarship money. that makes them labor.
so this is a labor issue. and just like every other facet of American life, we are conditioned to turn our backs on our fellow working human and side with The Man — in this case, the university.
folks keep pointing out that the majority of these kids won’t find a home to play and will be left in the lurch. but let’s be honest fellas: you don’t give a shit about that lol
you’re just mad they left YOUR team. that’s it.
so to call athletes selfish for wanting to find a place they’re respected is hilarious cuz any of y’all would do the same thing at your job.
this is the same bullshit propaganda corporate media plays with this whole “labor shortage” thing. that’s a myth. we don’t have a shortage. what we have is the working class refusing to take bullshit working conditions anymore.
the portal isn’t the problem: it’s coaches / universities selling a bag of goods to players that the players are refusing to take lying down anymore.
you want fewer transfers? be a better program.
you want to fill those “empty” jobs? be a better employer.
just be careful how you categorize kids who want what’s best for themselves.
and I’m fully prepared to take shit for this lol
for decades, athletes have been told to shut up and play, take your scholarship and don’t you even THINK about complaining.
they’ve been lied to by coaches in their own homes, manipulated by athletic departments and their own fans questioning their loyalty.
now, the players have power and are using it, and everybody is losing their minds.
are too many kids transferring? perhaps, but who are we to say?
but the way several of y’all talk about this teenagers is troubling, IMO.
in what other world are you forced to be somewhere you don’t want to be but if you even think about leaving, you’re called every bad name in the book?
the reason I brought up labor earlier is because that’s what student-athletes are: the labor.
they work for scholarship money. that makes them labor.
so this is a labor issue. and just like every other facet of American life, we are conditioned to turn our backs on our fellow working human and side with The Man — in this case, the university.
folks keep pointing out that the majority of these kids won’t find a home to play and will be left in the lurch. but let’s be honest fellas: you don’t give a shit about that lol
you’re just mad they left YOUR team. that’s it.
so to call athletes selfish for wanting to find a place they’re respected is hilarious cuz any of y’all would do the same thing at your job.
this is the same bullshit propaganda corporate media plays with this whole “labor shortage” thing. that’s a myth. we don’t have a shortage. what we have is the working class refusing to take bullshit working conditions anymore.
the portal isn’t the problem: it’s coaches / universities selling a bag of goods to players that the players are refusing to take lying down anymore.
you want fewer transfers? be a better program.
you want to fill those “empty” jobs? be a better employer.
just be careful how you categorize kids who want what’s best for themselves.
and I’m fully prepared to take shit for this lol
