NCAA...Still A Bunch of Hypocrites

I have said it numerous times to anyone who will listen to me. The NCAA is filled with hypocrites and it is almost equal to unfair working conditions of a sweatshop to be honest with you. The latest example of how the NCAA is just a massive joke is the “suspension” of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.


Allow me to give a little background into this situation. A few months ago it was revealed that several starters from the Ohio State football team sold some of their jersey, championship rings and trophies in exchange for tattoos. Now allow me to say that according to the rules the players were wrong, they deserved to be punished but the university’s methods seemed odd. You see if Ohio State had a financial reason to let these guys play because if they won they would receive a payout from the Sugar Bowl. So Tressel decides to make them promise to come back for another year forgoing millions of dollars if they wanted to play that game and would be suspended the first 5 games of the 2011 season.

Flash forward to yesterday when it was revealed that before the season even began the good old vest wearing coach knew of everything that happened and didn’t do a thing about it until 9 months later, AFTER the season was over. How is Tressel being punished? He’ll miss two games against the world beaters Toledo and Akron which went a combined 9-16 last season. So let me get this straight, a coach is complicit in the cover up of NCAA infractions and gets a slap on the wrist? If you can explain to me how a coach who covers up something that directly affects his 3 plus million dollar salary is worse than some dudes selling things the spoils of their victory I’ll give you control of this blog for a month.

This is just the latest in line of downright idiotic decisions by the NCAA, from suspending A.J. Green for selling his jersey to effectively ending Dez Bryant’s career over lunch with Deion Sanders. While these young men see their jerseys and likenesses used to sell video games and posters, greedy athletic directors and coaches are reaping the benefits. Not every member of the coaching or AD fraternity is evil, but enough are that makes the need for a rehaul of the system more necessary.

I’ll end by saying what I always say when this topic comes up, if you believe that a full academic scholarship is payment enough you are insane. You can’t compensate these kids with something worth $30,000 when they are bringing in BILLIONS of dollars. That my dear reader is damn near slave wages.

NCAA= The height of hypocrisy

The world of college athletics is a confusing one. The young men and women who participate in these are supposed to be the best examples of two worlds, academic and athletic. Instead what we see are a bunch of kids being pimped out so athletic directors, coaches, and the top brass at the NCAA get multi million dollar payouts.

Now I have heard all of the arguments against paying college athletes, such as, "they're receiving a free education." But are they? With the grueling schedule of a full season and then the post season, and if you factor in practices and team meetings, these kids barely have enough time to go to class, let alone find time to study.

Another argument against the free education people is the amount of money being made off of these kids. In basketball alone, the NCAA currently has an 11 year, six billion dollar contract with CBS, and this does not even factor in ticket sales, team apparel sales, and concession sales. If you want to say that all these kids deserve is $30,000 a year then you are insane. Billions of dollars are made off these kids hard work, image, and performance, yet they can't even get a job to have money in their pocket.

Even the coaches are guilty of exploiting these kids for their own personal gain. Take the case of Ray Ray Mcelrathbey. He was the young man who took legal custody of his little brother while a member of the Clemson University football team. The university had no problem parading him on national television making the university look good by association. LAst season he dealt with some injuries and then had his scholarship basically taken away. Like thanks for making us look good, we don't need you anymore. Some coaches make up to 3.4 million dollars a season, yet the main people responsible for that eat ramen every night because they can't afford anything else.

One of the grossest examples of exploitation is the case of the Fab Five. Not only did they sell alot of jerseys, pack arenas across the country, and basically usher in a new brash and in your face style of basketball to society, these guys came in as freshmen and flat out dominated their opponents. Yet because of the NCAA's rule that student athletes can't work, some of these teams took money from boosters. Not to buy cars, not to buy drugs, but to buy basic needs for survival such as winter coats. This was such a "vile" crime that they have been all but stricken from the record books.

I am willing to bet the NCAA won't be returning any of the money that they received from these young men's hard work.

For another example of exploitation of an athlete see this post by the good guys at gimme dat brew: http://gimmedatbrew.blogspot.com/2008/04/run-til-you-die.html