OldMaid

HBO

I just saw this on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. I think it is the show for last week.
Check your cable free and view-by-choice station.
The segment of this was really sad. Important . Per NCAA 's rule,
50 % must graduate so many universities are graduating their certain athletes. Fake, athletic clasess that they don't even have to show up for. Bogus, worthless degrees that the athlete cannot use. Good thing because they know nothing of any real profession.

The man in the picture was teaching himself to read in college by using Dr. Seuss.


Things like this should fixed and monitored by those wanting to pay and unionize college athletes . If those calling for players to get paid and have unions really have their intentions in the right place, they would fix this first. These people have found simply a new way for many MORE people to take big advantage of these athletes. Call it what it is.


$$$$$$$

SloMotion

Hmmm, interesting ... it's also a coincidence that after posting on this topic yesterday, the head-honcho of the NCAA was on one of the many politico shows that air Sunday mornings, so I watched the segment and he made a few more specific points along the lines of the danger in classifying college athletes as employees.

What does this spell out for the college athletes in the non-revenue producing sports? It's not like colleges/universities are making a killing & banking all the revenues from football/basketball (the two major college sport programs). NCAA football/basketball basically support an institutions overall athletic program and fund programs (such as bowling, volleyball, swimming, women's hockey, et ...) that would not be able to sustain themselves or be provided by an institution were it not for the revenues generated via football/basketball.

You can't designate football players as employees and not the rest, IMO. It will be interesting to see how this plays out & how they jump that hurdle.

But you're 100% right ... it's just another (maybe more politically correct, these days) way of making money off the student athletes. I'm also kinda' thinking it may be an effort to turn the NCAA into an 'official' minor leagues for the NFL vs the NCAA already being a minor league for the NFL in name only, ie now the college guys will get salaries, contracts, et... similar to how the minor leagues in other major sports operate ... thus dissolving the college/universities of the responsibility to actually educate the student athlete and/or the need to hand out scholarships, et..., while still being able to profit from their labor.

Whatever it is, it's way bigger than just a unionization issue, IMO.

stickman

I've been making that point to my wife for years.

I'm also wondering how much this could affect the NFL. As it is, baseball and basketball already draft kids out of high school, and soccer teams sign them to their "academies". Does the NFL treat kids who are getting paid as semi-pro players and draft them once they are deemed "eligible"?

SloMotion

Lot of peripheral issues with this. I gotta' think that if it is ruled compensation is in order, that the NFL would have to step up and pay some/all of it in order to keep using the NCAA as a developmental league.

It's a big ol' can o' worms if there ever was one, .