Slavery at the college level

I've written fairly extensively about the NCAA and their control over so-called student athletes. Now, some student-athletes are revolting. Northwestern athletes are leading the charge. They have formed the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA) and have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to recognize CAPA as a labor union, which could negotiate with the schools and exert the collective power of a team rather than the weak hand of an individual.

CAPA argues that Northwestern scholarship athletes are employees of the university. They are recruited, as corporations recruit executives. They are paid, not with cash but with academic scholarships. And they work full time as athletes, not students; the average football player spends 43.3 hours a week in training or games in season and Division I men’s basketball players spend 39.2 hours.

Like slavery, the universities control where these students live, what they eat, their summer activities and even what they can say to reporters. The NCAA can punish them by limiting their playing time if they change schools. Universities often revoke the scholarships of injured athletes who can no longer perform on the field. 

CAPA's demands are rather basic:  

• medical coverage for sports-related injuries sustained by current and former players.   
• efforts to minimize traumatic brain injuries. 
• improved graduation rates by establishing an educational trust fund to help former players complete degrees.