HBO Real Sports to Expose the NCAA

“forever and throughout the universe,” That’s intergalactic gangsterism…

modern day slavery? it might be, if these people were forced to play in the NCAA. they chose it, but i digress. i think they SHOULD get some money, its ridiculous how much these people make off these kids.
also, i wish i had HBO. damn it.

@airs: for some if not most, if they dont play they dont go to college.

“White people like Wayne Brady cause he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.”
My bad y’all, just came from that Boozer/Prince post where everyone was dropping Chapelle Show quotes.

Slavery is defined as uncompensated labor…

How do the scholarships work for these players? I don’t think they need to be paid, but maybe if their entire schooling was paid for and maybe meals covered in someway…that should be enough. Realistically, they’re there to get an education first, play ball second. The ones that cry foul are the ones who should get their priorities straight.

I hope the tide is turning and there will be too many cracks in the dam for the NCAA plug up. White, middle-aged males in high places are raking it in; at least if they aren’t going to pay athletes stop letting these CEO’s and Prez’s get rich. Death to the BCS is a GREAT read for those interested in similar issues…

…i didnt say it was volunteer work, i said your definition of slavery could be construed as volunteer work. i also said the players should be paid as well.

I have about 100 different problems with the NCAA regarding their treatment of college athletes, however the issue of education is almost never discussed. If athletes are somehow compensated monetarily–which I believe they should be–what then happens to the free education part? While only a fraction of college athletes actually have pro aspirations, most are there to get degrees like the rest of the student body. For every athlete that’s using college purely as a spring board to the pros there’s a kid who only wants a degree, but can’t get that seat in a class because a temporary athlete/student is using that seat and that scholarship money. That has always bothered me.

Most of the high profile athletes get compensated, it’s called a scholarship. Look into how much it cost for tuition/room and board at Mich. (Currently over 24 thousand for in state students and over 48 thousand for out of state students per year) That’s not compensation? These are educational institutions giving free educations to athletes. Does Harvard or Yale owe high profile academians money because they help maintain the high standards of their university thus, perpetuating students to want to go to Harvard or Yale? I think not. Plus the logistics of this would be staggering. Would each athlete get paid the same or would starters earn more than bench players? Would each program get compensated equally? Which programs would get compensated? Would it be based on need or based on program success?

This is a very controversial issue and no one will ever be happy with how the system ends, but you can look at it a couple ways. What if the schools said “Okay, we will pay you 20-30K a year to play here, but there is no scholarship and you have to pay for your own tuition, housing, meal plan ect.” The player at that point would be upset about that. It is unfair that these schools are making millions upon millions of dollars by using these students ability to play sports, but at the same time the students are using the school to showcase their talent for a few years, if even that, and then make at least hundreds of thousands dollars in pro sports. My question is how many of these students would be able to attend the school they play for if they weren’t athletes whether it be because of grades or financial reasons? A lot of the big names schools are very expensive to attend, Duke (around 41K a year), Purdue (40K), Ohio State (34K), UNC (45K), UCLA (50K), and also have high grade standards. Some, not all, athletes get to bypass a lot of that with their athletic scholarship. I don’t know about many people, but I couldn’t afford 50K a year to go to college when I was that age, even with grants, scholarships, and student loans.

There are many student athletes who use their scholarships to earn degrees, they may be the lesser known players, but they take full advantage of what they are given. Myron Rolle is a better known example of this, he used his scholarship at FSU to complete his Pre-Med degree in 2 ½ years. He became a Rhode’s Scholar and being drafted in the NFL. He said he took advice from former NBA player and Rhode’s Scholar Bill Bradley to take advantage because a career in sports can be fleeting, but having an education will last forever and give you something to fall back on. They saw the free education as a chance to better themselves.

I have seen fellow students who want to become doctors spend more time studying in a day then the athletes who play sports for the very same school. They do not get any recognition, but they work just as hard if not harder. To the people who say they do not bring in money to the school, they are called grants and research fellowships.

The shame is that both parties use each other and then spit each other out. Neither side truly has a case. Athletes pick and choose they school that they feel will make them look the best to pro scouts, if they don’t get playing time they transfer to a school that will give it to them. Then when they get what they went for, whether it be a year or two or more, they leave. Schools use a player’s name and number to sell jerseys and apparel, if they player gets hurt or ineligible, they will happily get rid of them for the next rising star.

Athletes should use their free schooling to have something to fall back on just in case their athletic career is a bust or they injure themselves while playing. It is sad to see great players who we watch and admired when we were younger end up at as a car dealer when they could have become more.

This is why a guy like Brandon Jennings gets so much respect for his Europe decision. He knew college wasn’t something he was interested in, so he went to earn a living before entering the draft. I also love the fact that the NCAA didn’t get to profit off of the guy. I wish more kids would consider the option. I also wish Euro leagues didn’t put a limit on the number of American player they allow on teams.

^^ very cheap R&D***

Have you missing like the f**kin O’Bannons. Should be something good to watch. But it also shows that there is much more in the world other than sports and college athletes must learn that the whole world is a business. Ask the guys who bought what Pryor was selling.

Good points all around. But we all know that an undergraduate degree is pretty much worthless in today’s job market, as is a Masters Degree. I’m not advocating that our youth not attend college but we all know that just because you graduate from a great school like Michigan, Duke or Texas doesn’t mean you won’t end up back home at your parents a few weeks after graduation. How many (mostly) African-American kids from low income neighborhoods have the business and network connections that their (mostly) White counterparts have that they then use from Mommy & Daddy to garner 6 figure jobs on Wall Street and at Fortune 500 companies? It’s been well documented that black college players with degrees are less likely to get those high-paying “Scholarship For Life” jobs that their white counterparts. So to even the tide, pay the top (and even 2nd tier) players the same that their coaches and administrators make so they can use that money to create their own businesses and then uplift their families socio-economic status.

People who talk about the value of the education athletes receive clearly don’t have a clue about how the system works for football and basketball players at major programs.
Check out the flak Myron Rolle got from FSU when he decided to be pre-med and when he decided to try to become a Rhodes Scholar. His commmittment to the “program” was promptly questioned, and that partially led to him slipping in the draft.
The schedule big time recruits have creates some serious difficulties when it comes to getting a degree. It doesn’t make it impossible, but it makes it mightly tough.
And, if players don’t perform on the court, their one-year contract, which are what scholarships actually are, won’t get renewed.
I know cats that it happened too.’

Also, can we please stop throwing around the word “slavery” just to be dramatic? The college basketball circuit is a form of exploitation, but even comparing it to slavery does a disservice both to these kids and to, you know, ACTUAL slavery…

*slaves, not slavery.

MANY OF THEM GET A FREE EDUCATION, THAT SEEMS LIKE COMPENSATION ENOUGH. Maybe if student athletes took their education seriously they wouldn’t end up, for example, working at a Toyota dealership.

Bob Knight cracked a whip at a Final Four press conference for god sakes?!!?!?!?!

People want to push slavery under the table, but why can a college co-ed who doesn’t pay tuition (b/c their parents do) go get a part time job to get some spending money but a player can’t?

The lasting effects of slavery stand because majority white sports like: tennis, golf, hockey and baseball players from high school can go pro directly from high school yet predominately black sports like: basketball and football force kids to put on efforts on the field that first pay shoe companies, coaches, AD’s and Conference executives exorbitant salaries.

It’s not by accident that the predominately black sports are one way while the predominantly white sports are another. That’s why it’s slavery.

To the people asking how scholarships ot the NCAA works, maybe you should read about it first before commenting in here? Seriously.

Free scholarship, education, housing, food, tight kicks, elite experience, exposure. Why would a place that uses its resources to grant acceptance to the world have to put a cherry ontop of a really good sundae with reese’s n stuff.

Also, bringing up the point that predominantly white sports (golf, hockey, etc.) allow players to play professionally straight out of high school is valid, but it’s a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DISCUSSION. If a basketball player is good enough to make the pros, a one-and-done in college does NOTHING to harm his career. If anything, these athletes are the ones who suffer the least.
The college athletes who suffer most from the NCAA’s restrictions are the ones who won’t make the pros–the ones who know they aren’t going to make the NBA, and STILL aren’t allowed to make some money on the side to support either themselves or their families. These players are the ones we should be paying more attention to–not the guys who go on to make millions of dollars in the NBA.
Completely different discussions here, X. Also, have you ever thought of the consequences of an athlete (for instance, a hockey player) playing in the minor leagues without a college education, and NOT making the pros?

I agree with most of what you’re saying though, X. Also, nice link.

Atleast put some money into the schools.