Should college athletes be paid? That is a question I hear at least once a week these days as I spend my time trolling on the internets. I do believe there should be some sort of compensation but I’m not exactly sure if it should be, in the words of the prophet Randy Moss, “Straight Cash Homey”. I have read essays and listened to speeches that fall on both sides of the argument and I understand how complicated of a situation it is. Unlike most internet trolls I try to do as much research as possible and form my own opinions. Where I come from there is a “sign on the door that says no biting allowed”. This is how I came across this book “The Cartel: Inside the Rise and Imminent Fall of the NCAA”. While reading essays and listening to interviews and speeches, as well as watching documentaries, this book was constantly referenced. So I went on to my Kindle (I don’t do regular books because I’m saving the environment and what not) and purchased this book.
Taylor Branch does a great job of discussing this concept of “Amateurism” and how it is a bunch of “mamba-jahambo”. One of the more interesting stories in this book is the journey of Walter Byers, who was the first executive director of the NCAA. He was there from 1951-1988 and once he was ghost he spilled the beans. He started making statements such as:
“The college player cannot sell his own feet (the coach does that) nor can he sell his own name (the college will do that). This is the plantation mentality resurrected and blessed by today’s campus executives.”
-Walter Byers
There are many reasons he feels this way and those are discussed in detail in this book, such as the mentality of coaches and administrators, to the legality of providing workmen’s comp, to the overall hypocrisy of the NCAA, etc. This book gives a detailed history and lays out a serious argument.
Growing up in inner-city Philadelphia I know many people who wanted to, and still want to play big time college athletics. They feel like “You either slanging Crack Rock or You Got a Wicked Jump Shot”. This is a sad mentality but it’s real. The sad part is this book shows how although many “Student Athletes” are given scholarships, those scholarships have no value based upon the current system in place. When you look at the big time programs you see most “Student Athletes”, even down to back up punters, believe they are going pro. This is sad when according to Branch, “Approximately 1 percent of NCAA men’s basketball players and 2 percent of NCAA football players are drafted by NBA or NFL teams”, stated the 2001 report, basing its figures on a review of the previous ten years, “and just being drafted is no assurance of a successful professional career”. The student athletes don’t take the college experience seriously nor do they take their studies seriously. I didn’t play big time college sports but I initially didn’t take my studies serious because I wanted to become a professional Yam Farmer, so I dedicated my time to trying to master my craft. The difference is I had professors and old-heads that reeled me in and made me focus, and eventually I finished Magna Cum Laude (Not to be confused with Magna Garbage Holy Fail). A lot of these student athletes aren’t forced to take their studies seriously because they are being used to generate revenue. And the sad part is there are some professors and faculty that try, and they are punished if they push too hard and it interferes with the athlete’s ability to produce on the field/court. There are many examples of this also in the book.
“But thanks to Reaganomics, prisons turned to profits
Cause free labor is the cornerstone of US economics”
-Killer Mike, “Reagan”
I’m not saying the current system of college sports is similar to the prison industrial complex but if the shoe fits…….
So if you are a fan of college sports or interested in creating a system to take advantage of others while making massive amounts of scratch, you should read this book.
Jimmy “The Blueprint” Williams of The War Room, for War Room Sports
Tags: All's Fair in Sports and War, Jimmy Williams, NCAA, Sports, The Cartel: Inside the Rise and Imminent Fall of the NCAA, The War Room, War Room Sports, WRS Book Review