TOW #22- 21 Reasons Why Student Athletes Are Employees and Should Be Allowed to Unionize

On going debates revolving around college athletics have recently gone to a new level: the issue of unionizing. Marc Edelman, with the use of a list and statistics, argues that college athletes should indeed be allowed to get paid and unionize.

            Edelman utilizes a list in order to make his argument clear, concise, and logical. To the reader, whom would be an ordinary sports fan or participant, an extensive essay wouldn’t be worth sitting down to read. In an ordinarily formatted essay, one can only make so many arguments without convoluting the purpose, making the essay too long, or losing the interest of sports fans simply searching for quick information. A list effectively is able to concisely make its points in a logical manner that, in this case, effectively communicates to the audience.

            Within this list, Edelman utilizes statistics in order to make a logical argument. For example, Edelman states that, “The typical Division I college football player devotes 43.3 hours per week to his sport- 3.3 more hours than the typical American work week.” With the use of specific facts and statistics, Edelman is able to prove to his audience that logically, a college athlete should be treated as employees by their respective schools. Edelman not only implements statistics about the physical labor, but about the revenue as well.  For example, he tells his readers that, “The NCAA currently produces nearly $11 Billion in annual revenue from college sport— more than…total league revenues of both the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.” By using a variety of specific statistics, Edelman is able to successfully create a logical argument.

            With the use of a list and statistics, Marc Edelman is successfully able to prove his argument that college athletes should indeed be able to unionize and receive pay.