extra credit

I watched the HBO documentary called "Student-Athlete" in which it followed the lives of 5 or six people associated with the NCAA, whether it was an aspiring athlete, a graduate, or a coach. I think this documentary did a very good job of showing the corrupt nature of the NCAA. One of the men, John, was an NC State football coach before being fired by the NCAA due to the school allegedly framing players' grades in fake classes. Meanwhile, neither John nor the students were even unaware of what was going on. After this, John went to another school to coach, where he spoke out against the NCAA on the ridiculousness of students not being able to profit off of their ability. He was fired again. The heart of John's argument is that the NCAA racks up billions of dollars, coaches make nearly 10 million dollars, the staff in total made about 20 million,  the facility cost around 150 million, and the players typically generated at least 100 million a year. All this being said, most of his players were below the poverty line. Not only are these players not getting paid but are also not allowed to profit off of their likeness on their own. After being fired John said that he texted/called 50 of his former players and asked them if they would rather a one million dollar locker room, with a flat-screen tv and a barbershop, or would they rather get the money to give to their families. 100% said they would rather the latter. One of the quotes I enjoyed from his portion was a "Kepp the players poor and powerless so the NCAA can have all the control." The other character who's story would fit well into my paper was Shemar, a former Rutger player who made It to the Chicago Bears training camp just to get injured and then kicked off the team. He claimed to have suffered four or five injuries and surgeries in college as well. After college Shemar was living out of his car working 5 jobs between the hours of 5 am to 10 pm every day and eating almost once every three days. A lot of these players not only have difficulty finding a job but also have to go through copious amounts of physical therapy (which costs a great deal of money) to keep them from becoming paralyzed before the age of 40. The other player was kicked out of the NCAA for accepting to live with his friends grandparents house because he was homeless, which against NCAA policy. The stories are endless.

This movie connected my paper by discussing the idea of oscillating migrant laborers and the athletes living two polar opposite lives. In general, all the aspects I discussed described how the NCAA is creating a Plantation System in which they are racking up so much money that they do not know what to do without.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0arOfqNnOM
Here is a link to the trailer. It can be watched on HBO.

Comments

  1. Michael GoellerApril 13, 2020 at 8:17 AM

    I like that quote: "Keep the players poor and powerless so the NCAA can have all the control." Is that John who says that? It sounds like him. He went from an assistant coach to an activist. The athletes are constantly at risk of losing their scholarships due to the NCAA rules or rules governing their behavior and performance on the team. So they have to just follow orders and not ask questions. It is as though the whole system had been designed to exploit them and deny them the ability to speak out against it. And they are constantly blamed for their situations, which they internalize and so are less likely to speak out due to their feelings of being a failure in the system. But it is not their fault; it is the way the system is designed. It is designed to constantly make them feel like failures and keep them in their place.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HELLO WELCOME TO MY RESEARCH IDEAS BLOG     On the Privatization OF COLLEGEEEE!!!!! Idea #1- College Sports        Athletes many times go to school for free        California recently legalized paying college athletes- big controversy         A lot of money goes into it        Large factor of where students choose to go to school, ex. schools down south are bigger on sports Idea #2- undecided
Read more
I would like to narrow down my research paper to whether college athletes should get paid and talk about the state of California being the first to allow this, even though it does not go into effect until 2023. I will look in to see if other states are willing to follow in the footsteps of California. If so why or why not. A common argument for not getting paid is that these athletes are putting everything of theirs on the line - their physical health, mental health, their future careers (if sports does work out), and lastly, their time. With this also comes the question of should they get paid for commercials/ brand deal at least since it is essentially face and their brand. Can college pay athletes for one and not the other? The other argument is that when it comes down to it, college is a place for education and many times, these high ranked athletes are going and getting degrees at the major universities for free. Is that not enough to count as a salary? https://www.npr.org/2019/
Read more

counter argument

Argument- Black student-athletes are treated as Migrant Laborers exploited for their athletic ability by the NCAA via the Plantation Model.  The leverage of the NCAA over these athletes stems from the overemphasis of sports in black communities leading to an enormous pool of overzealous applicants each year. Counter- Despite the corrupt nature of the NCAA, it provides players with a form of self-empowerment through academic achievement and the overall feeling of self-worth (especially if you are the first person in your family to graduate college). It also helps one build an identity and help make connections in the world beyond a small community. Overall, gaining a college degree, in general, is very beneficial in today's society and incrementally benefits those of low-income families more than those of the middle class. Additionally, there is always the chance of falling into the one percent that makes it and succeeds in the NFL/NBA and gets paid millions of dollars.
Read more