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Yoni Danieli works at the flower shop in Ackerman Student Union.
He plays with petals and clips chrysanthemums to help pay for
school.
His first week on the job, Danieli was so exuberant he pierced
his finger with a rose thorn, drawing blood. While this injury was
not debilitating, Danieli took comfort in the fact that he is
covered by workers’ compensation. If one of his flowers
fights back and causes serious injury, he is covered by the school
for medical expenses.
So why isn’t it the same for student athletes who are
injured while playing (working) for their schools during the summer
months?
This is just one of the questions the Collegiate Athletes
Coalition is asking as it seeks to gain rights for student
athletes. The CAC is in its infantile stages, drawing members
nationwide in hopes of increasing recognition for student
athletes.
However, those directing and joining the organization might be
missing out on a very powerful advocacy group: the students
themselves.
It is very difficult for an average student like Danieli, who
twists bouquets for $7 an hour, to see the
“plight” of student athletes. Early registration, free
tutoring, free tuition and countless other athlete benefits are
well known to the general student body. In fact, one could argue
that many students feel a certain jealousy, if not animosity,
toward student athletes.
“A lot of people think we play on Saturday and take the
rest of the week off,” former UCLA linebacker and CAC founder
Ramogi Huma said. “They don’t know these guys work year
round, extremely difficult workouts. We sustain injuries, and some
of us need surgery.”
Huma is not complaining on behalf of athletes. He says that most
accept early morning workouts and painful injuries as part of the
job. To Huma, being a student athlete is a full-time job. But he
needs to convey that to the general population.
“It’s really one of the most difficult ways to put
yourself through college, physically,” he said.
Huma is not naïve enough to compare a struggling student
strapped with loans to full-scholarship athletes. But he does think
football and basketball players in particular are exploited by the
corporation known as the NCAA.
“Amateur sports is a myth,” he said.
“It’s been a myth for some time now.”
Huma points to the billions of dollars in television contracts
the NCAA brings in each year as evidence.
But does the CAC try to relate to students like you and me?
“We completely understand about other students,”
Huma said. “We’ll be the first to tell you how great of
an opportunity (college athletics) is. But just because we are in a
good situation doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work to
minimize our risks.”
He is right. If the CAC is about minimizing risks, then we as
students have an obligation to speak out and support this
progressive organization. As long as the platform addresses health
care and even death benefits, then Huma’s cause is noble. But
paths may diverge when the CAC enters the strictly financial
realm.
Part of the CAC’s goal is to increase stipends as well as
wage caps set on part-time jobs for student athletes. The
organization argues that students struggle to meet rent prices and
food bills because their off-field earnings are limited to $2,000
during the academic off-season. Huma wants to increase this number
as well as their annual stipend.
If amateur sports are a myth, then the idea of student athletes
going hungry is a tall tale at best. While some undoubtedly have
problems meeting financial obligations because of limited income,
thousands of others breeze through school without worrying about
money.
Most students have little sympathy for the financial plight of
athletes, but do feel for them when it comes to medical costs and
support.
The CAC would gain more student support if it initially dropped
pay increases for athletes from its platform.
By focusing on issues important to general students the CAC
would gain a powerful political backing, something it could present
to politicians who have power to make legislative change.
With increased support the CAC would have greater bargaining
power, rendering it more effective. In the long run this change
would help the CAC gain legitimacy, even if it came at the expense
of certain platform points.
Perhaps the CAC could re-insert strictly financial arguments
onto its platform once it gains a strong foothold in the world of
collegiate athletic politics.
Danieli agrees. He sees himself as a type of athlete, stooping
and bending to pick out the brightest flowers, stretching and
straining to reach overhead vases, tying and twisting the best
combinations.
“I broke a sweat once,” he said with a grin.
“It was Valentine’s day and we were swamped. I almost
suffered a career-ending back injury carrying two dozen roses. Good
thing I’m covered.”
If Danieli can draw a connection between himself and world-class
athletes, then the CAC needs to find ways to do the same. Harness
student power and the Coalition has a tremendous chance at
political legitimacy.
After all, the CAC is in for a fight that will be no bed of
roses.