Is NCAA friend of foe?
Once again we have an investigation involving the NCAA in men’s basketball pertaining to players receiving illegal benefits from coaches and agents. We have all heard rumors about players being paid in some way shape or form for decades, but one has to ask, who cares?
Many of these young men come from impoverished communities where the money they receive is very needed. Some of these improper benefits are as little as a dinner or maybe even a plane ticket for their parents to come see them play.
Granted under NCAA rules these are violations, but I question why they are violations at all. I recently saw a report where the NCAA grossed over a billion dollars in revenue in 2017 all from players that do not get a dime.
I know some will say that the players are getting paid by having their education paid for along with room and board. I find that point very laughable because no one who is actually being honest with themselves would say that is a fair trade off.
When it comes to the most recent investigation, which was led by an FBI probe, it involved some of the biggest stars in the college game. It stemmed from spreadsheets found in the office of former NBA agent Andy Miller.
Some of the players and coaches named actually had to sit out a game or two. Many of the schools named in the investigation were some of college basketball’s best. Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky, Texas, USC, Alabama and many others were named.
What’s sad about this is these schools could find themselves in front of the NCAA Committee on Infractions, which could lead to sanctions. This just further proves the NCAA systems is extremely flawed and is in serious need of change.
This whole illusion of amateurism they try to shove down our throats as a reason the players are not getting paid is outdated and a flat out lie. These players are not amateurs by any stretch of the imagination.
With a $1 billion pie to split, there is more than enough money to go around and not have these players’ eligibility come into play. If the NCAA and the schools continue to be greedy, they will force the NBA to make changes to their rules.
Currently the NBA has a “one and done” rule, where a player can’t enter the NBA draft until one year after their graduation from high school. With all of this foolishness surrounding college basketball, it would be smart for them to eliminate this rule and allow these players to be eligible for the draft straight out of high school.
Along with eliminating the one and done rule, the NBA should raise the pay players receive in the G-League, which will attract more players to want to enter the draft early, leading to a better product on the floor and a better farm system for the NBA teams.
Another option, which would be better for college basketball, is that the NCAA adopts the Olympic model where the school continues to pay for tuition, room and board but nothing else. Then they allow boosters or whomever else to pay players whatever amount they wanted.
Since boosters are already paying the top players to already, what is the harm of just making it legal in college sports? It is also a well-known secret that for years, agents have given players money up front so the players will sign with them once they make it to the professional ranks. Once again, what is the big deal?
