The demands of Huma’s group and the players’ complaints at Grambling are not that far apart.

Among other things, Huma’s group is pushing for concussion reform at the N.C.A.A. level, ensuring that players are never stuck with insurance-related medical bills and making sure that permanently injured players do not lose their scholarships. The group also wants to adopt an Olympic model in which star athletes are allowed to endorse products and receive pay for opportunities that arise from those endorsements.

At Grambling, players protested deterioration in the athletic complex, complaining of mildew and mold. The weight room’s floor is coming apart, and it was not replaced because of a dispute between the administration and the former coach Doug Williams, who was fired last month. Players say poor cleaning of uniforms has increased the risk of staph infections.

Players also complained about having to travel 14 hours by bus for one trip and 17 hours by bus for another. Grambling (0-8) lost both games. A university spokesman told The Associated Press that severe cuts in state money had forced the university to make difficult choices.

It is tempting to focus on Huma’s demands and on Grambling’s complaints. The larger issue, however, is which tactics will accelerate reform. Grambling players certainly got their president’s attention.

“It’s time for action,” said Emmett Gill, the founder of the Student Athletes Human Rights Project. “What those young men did took a lot of courage, and they need to be supported. Right now, they’re on an island.”

While much of the language of college athletic reform has focused on exploitation of players and especially the low graduation rates of black players, the significance of the Grambling protest is that players at a historically black college complained that the institution was treating them unfairly and was exploiting their muscle. The boycott targeted a system that exploits all players, whether they attend Grambling or Georgia Tech. The issues at Grambling are different from the issues at Georgia Tech, but players at each institution play by the same N.C.A.A. rules. Those rules prop up an outdated and exploitative system.

“There is a culture in higher education that excuses the mistreatment of college athletes,” Huma said. “All the players are in this together, regardless of what race they are. This situation is not because players are black or white; it’s because money is green and there is a conflict of interest of people who run the sport.”