SmashMouth

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of our nation's finest universities, ranking 30th in the latest U.S. News and World Report list of top schools and eighth on Forbes' list of top public colleges. And the bit of drivel above apparently earned an A-minus, according to ESPN.

Why? Simple. That paper was written by an athlete for a class specifically designed to keep them moving through the university.

"Athletes couldn't write a paper," Mary Willingham, a specialist in the school's learning-support system-turned-whistleblower, told ESPN. "They couldn't write a paragraph. They couldn't write a sentence yet." She said that some of the students were reading at a second- or third-grade level, which is considered illiterate for a college-age student. As Willingham notes, in the "AFAM" classes, players were notching As and Bs, but in actual classes such as Biology and Economics were receiving Ds and Fs.

The academic scandal at UNC has deep roots; hundreds of classes since the mid-1990s fell into a "no-show" category, classes made up primarily or completely of athletes who didn't even show up to class and yet earned an A.

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OldMaid

This does happen.
It is really sad.
Some professors are pressured or told to "Pass the football/basketball players along."
Some professors have no morals either and will just pass the athletes.

Thing is, when you do something like this, it can come back.
I am sure these guys who do not make it in the pros will come back with a lawsuit against the university and professors too.

The former athlete has no tools for supporting himself after college sports ends.

It is very sad that this happens to many of them.

This falls with the labor union debate and paying college athletes.
These people have scholarships and tutoring.
Hell, they even can have students for pay do their course work for them.
I think people pushing labor unions, and other things for college athletes should address something like this. Makes sure the athletes are learning. Attending classes.

All do not make it to the pros.
All who make it to the pros do not get tens of millions in contracts.
Those who do, many of them after their time inn sports are broke.