This document discusses the credibility of four sources about whether student athletes should unionize. It analyzes each source, considering the author's credentials, potential biases, and where it was published. Two sources are found to be credible based on coming from reputable websites and presenting factual information, though one has a biased author. The other two sources are found less credible due to lacking author information and showing strong biases throughout their arguments. In conclusion, the document emphasizes the importance of evaluating an author's background and potential biases, as well as where the information originates, to determine a source's credibility.

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Lindsay Nibert
Harold Blanko
First Year Seminar
September 17, 2014
Student Athlete Unionization
Knowing whether or not a source is credible is very important in writing a paper.
The author’s degree, knowing whom is behind the publishing, when the publishing was
published, and the overall grammaticism of the article in questions plays a huge role in the
credibility of the article. Today, many are discussing whether or not students should be
paid for their time put into their sport during college. In situations involving many sides
and opinions, it is highly important to ensure the right information is received and the
reliable sources are being published for anyone and everyone to see.
The Newsday article, A rim-rattling ruling in college sports; Athletes aren’t
blind to the billions they earn for the NCAA. Change is coming… is a reliable source. The
author, Michael Dobie, however, wrote in a biased, opinionated form. Sometimes, the
author will write to persuade their own opinion. That is one way to tell whether or not a
source could be considered reliable: biased articles are normally less reliable than non-biased.
One red flag for the article is the
lack of information on the author. When searching his name, other articles written
by Dobie show up, but no biography or other information are found. Dobie’s article
pointed out more facts that

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support the unionization of student athletes such as the football players at Northwestern
University “spend as much as 50-60 hours per week on football” and that the students
“cannot be considered ‘primarily students’” (Dobie). This article is a reliable source,
nevertheless, because the website it came off of is reliable.
The second article, Student-Athletes Union Case Changes the Rules of the Game,
did not write biased, but to solely inform the reader. Like the previous article, the author,
Matt Dunning, has no information about him, only the articles he has written. The main
question from the article was “Do scholarship athletes qualify as employees?” He states
“football players who receive scholarships are employees under the National Labor
Relationships Act” in the attempt to unionize (Dunning). Dunning’s article is reliable
because it came from a trustworthy website, is not biased, and informs the reader on the
topic. One down side to the author, however, is there is little information on the author.
In the third article, Paying College Athletes was extremely biased. The author,
Reed Karaim, also did not have information available about him, only his other articles.
Reed is heavily against student athletes unionizing. Karaim stated “If the initial decision
is upheld and if players vote for a union, they will be able to bargain collectively over
compensation and work place roles” (Reed). Throughout
the article he continues to bring up more and more points going against student
athletes who want to unionize. He spends the majority of his writing attempting to
persuade the reader to go or stay against the unionization of student athletes. Overall this
source is highly scholarly and very credible. It is noticeably credible because it came

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from academic search premier. Academic Search Premier is a very credible website;
therefore, this source is credible.
The fourth and final source is titled NCAA and college sports: It is time to pay
Athletes to play? The author, Mark Laurence, has information about him and his
credibility. Laurence is a financial advisor at Wells Fargo Advisors. There, he has twenty
nine years of experience. At Wells Fargo, he provides advice for investments to clients.
Laurence’s position is entitled an Investment Advisory Rep. He knows and understands
what is happening because he is used to sorting out financial obligations and deciding
where the money should go and how it should be spent. Although the author is credible
and information can be found about him, his article is incredibly biased. Laurence is
strongly opposed to student athletes who want to unionize. For example, he wrote
“Regardless of what Northwestern players do, the ruling -- if upheld -- is a watermark that
threatens confusion and change” (Laurence). Aside from worrying about confusion, he
fears segregation will begin to form. According to Laurence “The ruling could also result
in two classes of players -- private-school athletes who can unionize and public-school
ones who can't.” Also, he fears “If a private university tried to negotiate with its unionized
football players, it would be violating NCAA rules, which could affect
funding for other sports. Because the NCAA controls scholarship money and
health-care costs, universities like Northwestern would likely have limited authority to
negotiate” (Laurence). This source is very reliable, however, highly biased. The high
credibility of the article is shown from the scholarly website and the experience of the
author.

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To conclude, the credibility of a source is very important. Anyone with a
computer can post online regardless if the information is accurate or credible. This being
said, it is critical to know about the author and where the author received their information
from. By looking up information about the author, only looking at credible websites, and
ensuring prior knowledge of where the information originally came from, one can
eliminate receiving false information.

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Works Cited
DUNNING, MATT. "Student-Athlete Union Case Changes The Rules Of The Game."
Business Insurance 48.8 (2014): 0004. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
Dobie, Michael. “A Rim-rattling Ruling in College Sports; Athletes Aren’t Blind to the
Billions They Earn for the NCAA.” Newsday. N.p., Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
Guarino, Mark. "NCAA and college sports: It is time to pay athletes to play?." Christian
Science Monitor 18 May 2014: N.PAG. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Sept.
2014.
Karaim, Reed. “Paying College Athletes.” CQ Researcher 11 July 2014: 577-600. Web.
15 Sept. 2014.