As the vote for football unionization on April 25 at Northwestern creeps closer, voices of dissent have arisen from the ranks. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald spoke out in opposition, but on Wednesday quarterback Trevor Siemian also spoke out as anti-union.
Via ESPN:
"I'm treated far better than I deserve here," Siemian said. "Introducing a third party or somebody else, especially when our main goals when this began … there were issues with the NCAA that we thought we could address, and [unionizing] was one of the ways to do it. Nothing had been exhausted from within the school. Myself included, nobody ever addressed Fitz or Dr. Phillips about these issues.
"Two of these guys that all of us have come here and trusted so much — I've known Coach Fitz five or six years now — to say I don't trust you enough to help us out addressing these changes isn't the right way to go."
Linebacker Colin Ellis felt it was a distraction and that he wouldn’t want unionization to come at the expense of the university, which is commendable.
If anything, Siemian’s opposition creates an intriguing narrative. Siemian and Colter did the quarterback two-step splitting snaps during the regular season. Siemian is expected to be the full-time starter next season and this may be the perfect opportunity for Siemian to cement his starting job next season. On the other hand, it could also create a rift between Siemian and his teammates, which makes things difficult for a potential starting quarterback. One thing we do know is that no matter how the vote swings, April 25 is just the beginning.
