Report: NCAA players show united front with 'APU' protest

Published Sep. 21, 2013 6:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

According to an ESPN.com report, a number of players from Georgia, Georgia Tech and Northwestern staged a peaceful, but visible protest of the NCAA's alleged treatment of student-athletes — donning equipment marked with the initials "APU," as in All Players United.

The National College Players Association, which is seemingly co-opting this movement with a number of players from various schools throughout the country, has the following message posted on its Web site.

After decades of enforcing unjust rules, NCAA sports is now at a tipping point. The fate of college athletes hangs in the balance. Athletes and their supporters are uniting through the National College Players Association, which has spent years fighting unjust NCAA rules through public pressure, sponsoring new laws, conducting pivotal studies, and pushing for justice through the courts.

Unity among athletes is growing by the day, lawmakers are introducing reform bills, and major players’ rights lawsuits are in motion. It's urgent for college athletes and their supporters to do all they can to make sure things change for the better — not the worse.

The NCAA has dealt with many issues regarding college players and their individual marketability in recent months, including the prominent inquiry that resulted from Texas A&M quarterback and reigning Heisman winner Johnny Manziel allegedly earning thousands of dollars from memorabilia dealers over the last 12 months.