APU

In Salon today, some very welcome news from the world of College Football:

During nationally televised college football games on Saturday, 28 total players wore the slogan “APU” — short for “All Players United” – on their wrist tape or elsewhere on their bodies. Players from the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Northwestern took part.

“I think it’s the first time the players have shown a sign of unity in terms of NCAA reform on TV … during games,” said former linebacker Ramogi Huma, the founder of the National College Players Association. Huma told Salon that reaction to the protest has “all been positive,” spurring more players to join. He said players intend to keep wearing the APU slogan on the field “until NCAA sports reform is achieved in a way that satisfies the players,” and that the action “will get bigger and bigger” before the regular football season concludes.

There are plenty of very good reasons for pessimism about the future of such a movement, but if Paul’s speculation that we may be at or approaching something of a tipping point here, this could be interesting. They’re targeting the lowest hanging fruit, too: I would hope that even NCAA dead-enders like Chait would recognize there’s something pretty damn wrong with allowing schools to drop scholarships and the medical care they come with for players injured by the game, which is cartoonishly evil even by the standards of the NCAA.