“The coaches own the athletes’ feet, the colleges own the athletes’ bodies, and the supervisors retain the large rewards. That reflects a neo-plantation mentality on the campuses.” – Walter Byers, the [NCAA] association’s executive director from 1951 to 1987 and the man most responsible for the modern NCAA, has seen the light.
We need a massive reformation of this warped system. Here are a few suggestions:
§So-called “student-athletes” should have workers’ compensation protections.
§Scholarships should be guaranteed for four years, so players can’t be dismissed from school if they run afoul of their coaches.
§Ceilings should be put on coaching salaries, with the money saved in revenue-producing sports used to pay stipends to athletes.
§The NBA and NFL should fund their own minor leagues, so universities don’t have that responsibility.
§The corrupt cartel otherwise known as the NCAA should be abolished.
Any one of the above would make the current system more just, less rife with hypocrisy and more able to handle the challenges of intercollegiate sports.
