TO THE EDITOR:
Regarding the recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board regarding student-athletes: One of the many, many great things about the United States is that we don’t have indentured servitude.
The Daily Tar Heel article on Sept. 1 indicated that Landon Turner was frustrated with the decision.
“In my mind, we do a lot of work for the University, and it’s not too far-fetched to me to say we’re employees of some kind,” he said.
He is right, and he applied for the “job” and was one of the fortunate few who was hired by UNC to play football.
He has free will and can terminate his “employment” any time he wishes. I’d say the $50,000 benefit (estimated cost for non-resident to attend UNC) he gets for playing football is excellent compensation for less than full-time “employment.”
The median household income in the United States for 2013 was $52,250. That means Landon “earns” more than almost half of the households in the United States.
Pretty good compensation for playing a game he obviously loves so much that he played for nothing when he was in high school.
Bob Woodruff
