Are college athletes more emboldened than ever before?

Josh Allen had an opinion about how College Athletes are asked to ply their craft, and he was lambasted in the media as a pretty boy from the beach. Ed O'Bannon sued the NCAA, and some people thought that he should have felt blessed to get his free education at UCLA. Players in College Sports have long been held back when speaking out on current events, but the Kaepernick protests have given college athletes more permission than ever to speak up.

They are fighting to be paid, and they are taking back their voice.

Tacet permission

I believe that college athletes have been given tacit permission to protest in a way that means something to them. We will see players kneel for the national anthem, and we may see players take time at their lockers to speak on current events. We are looking at a college sports landscape that is covered so vastly that these players cannot get away from the cameras and the reporters. They have a platform, and they look at what has happened, feel the need to speak, and are given a chance to speak.

The sports make money

Players have to be on TV because college sports are making money every day, and the players must be put front and center for the viewing public. Someone who is intrigued by college sports can easily see that players are put up for public consumption, and these players may take a moment of their time to speak on what they believe in. They are not hoping to take up all your time with social issues, but they may want to have a moment to speak on what they believe is right.

This is not anarchy

The college athletes who speak up on social issues are not asking for total anarchy in which they break down your social constructs, changing the way you live your life, and shoving their beliefs down your throat.

They are simply looking for an opening to talk about what they believe in. They want to know that they can be heard at a time when their rights are being challenged, and they may come from communities where social justice issues are a big deal to them.

Things will level off

The balance of open speech in college athletics will level off once players feel they may speak openly. Certain coaches will allow their players to speak more than others, and there are those who will ask their players to not speak at all. There will be a system of free speech that will be expressed in every college locker room, and the landscape of college sports will become a breeding ground for social justice awareness.