The NCAA: A Bubbling Cauldron of Hypocrisy

After watching Monday's national championship game I was just in awe of the spectacle that I had just witnessed. I was in awe of the athletic display those young men put on. I was also in awe of the compelling on the field story told. Then...I got disgusted.

I got disgusted because as the confetti started to fall the announcers mentioned the bonuses the coaches would all receive.

I'm rich bitch!

In total the coaches of the Crimson Tide received 1.27 million dollars in bonuses. This is on top of their yearly salary which in total tops 17.1 million dollars.

Now what bonuses will the guys like say Anfernee Jennings get? Who is that you may ask? He's the young man who celebrated from a wheelchair on the sideline during the national championship game.

Bill Parcells once said that when you win a championship, it's like a blood transfusion. You’re forever family. You can feel it in this moment. pic.twitter.com/OZOueRalaR

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) January 9, 2018

What's his bonus? Why that would be the experience of being on the sideline and a year's worth of tuition because players can be dropped from scholarship at any moment. That's it. Now luckily it appears Jennings will make a full recovery. But for his sacrifice and literally putting his body on the line he gets to go to class and I'm not knocking that, but it seems to me when the University of Alabama made almost 100 million dollars during their 2015 championship season, if the cost of their education is considered their salary, holy hell you're paying these guys slave wages.

Now not to pick on the Crimson Tide, but since they just won a national title I'll use them as an example.Yearly cost for out of state students at the University of Alabama with room, board, and tuition is roughly $45,000. During the 2015 season it was estimated that the net market value of each player on that team was $545,000.

This doesn't even take into account if a player gets hurt while wearing the school colors. If a player is hurt with a long term injury such as a spinal injury or worse the long term effects from multiple concussions, who would pay for the medical treatments? The school you would think right? WRONG! NCAA member institutions are not required to provide long-term care for athletes who have exhausted their eligibility, graduated, or are no longer enrolled. So get a spinal injury and can't continue on? Well thanks for your service and we wish you the best. Seriously read this piece on Stanley Doughty and not be filled with a rage of a thousand suns.

Do I have the answer on solving what to do for non revenue generating sports? No, but something has to be better for these young men. If you're a chemistry major and you're a teacher's assistant, you get a stipend for providing a service to the university. Hell if you're not gonna do that at least let them make money off their own name. As it stands now we may not know who the NCAA is looking out for, but we know for certain who they don't give a damn about the student athlete.