Soul Saturdays: I Concur with Taylor Branch's Article "The Shame of College Sports"

I will be talking about this article's content and writer, Taylor Branch, this Wednesday more in-depth. But, for Soul Saturday, I wanted to briefly talk about how good it made me feel to see this article, "The Shame of College Sports," on the cover the The Atlantic. A few months ago, I attended a wedding and the topic of paying college athletes was brought up. It resulted in a heated debate (and some grudges) in which I felt somewhat alienated by my opinion that yes, we should pay athletes a minimum wage because of the athletes' importance to the school, the revenue that they bring in, and the hours the sport requires of them which pretty much makes having a part-time job impossible.
My opinion was not well-received.
I am a former college athlete myself, and although I was in the non-profitable sport of volleyball and only at a small division II school, the fact is, sports are a big part of why alumni pay money to schools. Sports are also a big reason that students attend the school not to mention gear, concession stands, and exposure. All of these reasons and more are why I feel that college athletes should be paid minimum wage no matter what school they go to or if they are in a revenue-generating sport.
While this article does not argue the exact same points as me, the fact that Taylor Branch revealed a whole group of people that feel strongly about the corruption and blatant monopoly and greed that pollute the NCAA made me feel united and accepted--unlike I did during the conversation at the wedding.
It's nice to not feel like an outsider and seek out like-minded people. Does this mean that I cannot listen to or learn from people that have opposing views? Of course not. But it sure is nice to find people to agree with sometimes, too, espeically when the topic is controversial and I have a personal investment and experience with the issue.