While Basketball Is On Everyone's Minds

[TennesseeCarl]

The news today is pretty troubling. Buried at the back of USA Today's sports page is an article about how a Michigan booster paid recruits before and during college.<br /><br /> Chris Webber received $280,000 from his freshman year in HIGH SCHOOL through his sophmore year in college.<br /><br /> Robert Traylor received $160,000 during high school and college. <br /><br /> Maurice Taylor received $105,000 during college.<br /><br /> The booster has been indicted but no charges have been leveled against the players or their families. (I'll bet the IRS may get curious about whether any of that income was declared).<br /><br /> I'm not so naive as to believe Michigan is the only place where this is or was happening. The money is staggering, however. Keep in mind these kids jumped to the pros saying they needed to do it 'For their families' (the usual litany).<br /><br /> It seems to me as though their families may have made more while they were in high school than most of us. <br /><br /> How could folks be so blind? How could kids like Webber have all this loot nobody wonders where they get it? <br /><br /> On every major campus in America, 18-20 year old athletes manage to drive around in new SUVs with all the bells and whistles. But nobody raises questions. <br /><br /> It's really time to change our entire system of 'amateur' athletics.

[daustin]

Yep ... The NCAA is only fooling itself and only investigates when forced to (by a news artical).<br /><br />I say, go ahead and pay the kids.

[bulldog]

there is no other country in the world that maintains the sham that every youth that yearns to play pro sports is also a committed scholar.<br /><br />it just isn't true. you look around and see tennis players and soccer players around the world that turn pro at 14 or 15 and work to hone their skills.<br /><br />here, that is frowned upon because people say, <br />'well, what happens if the youth doesn't make it in his/her sport, what will become of them?'.....<br /><br />my answer is that a partially completed degree where the player goes to 50% of the classes and maintains a C average is not exactly going to set them up for a stellar post-athletic career if they have to depend on it. <img border="0" title="" alt="[smile]" src="smile.gif" /> <br /><br />now, some sports like football and to a lesser degree basketball require greater physical maturity to be successful. it is hard to imagine 16 or 17 year olds being able to compete in the NFL against mature men.<br /><br />so, the NCAA system of a feeder league does have a purpose. but let's pull the veil off and recognize what is really possible and what is not.<br /><br />I know a lot of kids that found college classes difficult enough WITHOUT having the full-time commitment of a basketball or football scholarship. So you are going to tell me that a large number of athletes are going to be able to compete head up with students who don't have those other distractions to perform in the classroom?<br /><br />And maintain themselves on campus with no money other than for books and class registration?<br /><br />this is pie in the sky logic. the type of stuff the International Olympic Committee used to foster, an unrealistic ideal of the amateur athlete, where countries like Russia and China realized the system wouldn't work and cheated by paying athletes and subsidizing their training.<br /><br />so, my solutions?<br /><br />let's make the college basketball, football teams subsidiaries of the schools. players on the team MAY go to classes and carry a full academic curriculum and matriculate if that is a goal of theirs. <br /><br />At the same time the television revenue from the various sports would be used to 1) enhance the school and its programs as it does now, 2) enhance other athletic programs that don't have TV or other fees and 3) to create a fund to pay players for their contributions.<br /><br />I think that is only reasonable given the universities are making millions off of kids that in 75% of the cases are NOT going to make it in the pros.<br /><br />And going back to the schoolwork, for those student/athletes that want to carry an academic load, then the funds should also be there for them to do that, as is done now.<br /> <br /> <small>[ March 22, 2002, 09:47 AM: Message edited by: bulldog ]</small>

[Art]

This happens everywhere. Even at a sub-major school like VCU where I went, it was known how much money Kendrick Warren was getting. I would buy shoes, frequently, from members of the team, which is a violation. VCU was investigated once because an assistant coach, on the way home after a practice, driving through a pouring rain, saw one of his players hustling along the street to get to the dorm and he offered him a ride to the dorm. This was witnessed and is a violation of rules.<br /><br />The movie Blue Chips was not just make believe. At major universities, while that movie may have been a little over the top, the fact is, that is not an abnormal thing. There are likely schools where this isn't the way it's done. But, at many places if not most, this IS the way it is done and for certain, at every school there are NCAA violations since the rules themselves are so out of whack you can't help but violate them.<br /><br />I don't necessarily think we have to "pay" the athletes. However, being that they are athletes, they are restricted from working a certain number of hours in a job of their choosing. They are restricted from working on campus at any job any other student, on scholorship or otherwise, can take.<br /><br />Hell, I've KNOWN people on scholorship at a university who, in their field of study, have designed something -- most of the time a computer program -- that they've been able to sell and make money on. The only people we regulate are the athletes. The athletes don't have the same rights as the rest of campus. Now, it's fair to say many athletes wouldn't be on campus but for the athletics. So, it isn't always easy to say fairness is absent. I'd certainly change the way it is done though.

[NavyDave]

The NCAA is making billions off of these athlete students as well as selling there jersey without a stipend going there way so I say let them get paid.<br /><br />Unless they are taking money to fix games I see no reason why they cant get paid.<br /><br />Yeah some of these students wouldnt be on campus without athletics and at the same time those billions from TV wouldnt go into those coffers because of the math or science dept either

[pga]

Time out here!<br />I never took money from ANYBODY....<br /><br />What an outrage!<br />TIMEOUT<br />I can't believe this...<br /><br />timeout....<br /><br />Chris Webber<br /><br /> <img border="0" alt="[pint]" title="" src="graemlins/pint.gif" /><br /> <br /> <small>[ March 22, 2002, 11:05 AM: Message edited by: pga ]</small>