not only is this one of the best pieces I've ever read, it could also end up being one the most pivotal pieces ever written on the subject:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--latest-college-scandals-again-reveal-folly-of-ncaa-rules-210822795.html

9/11/2013 9:51:21 PM

Comment section is lolerific. It's like people just read the title and went straight to the keyboard.

Quote :

"Besides, it's not like college administrators – commissioners, athletic directors, coaches and so on – have any use for the spirit of amateurism. They long ago ditched any semblance of austerity that might come if you were truly operating just an extracurricular activity or true non-profit sports enterprise. Instead, they drape themselves in huge salaries, private planes, comp cars and country club course memberships. They snatch every last freebie at Nike retreats and lounge on Caribbean cruises funded by bowl executives. They hold their meetings at palm-lined luxury hotels. The AD at Michigan isn't paid the same as the AD at Eastern Michigan. The AD at Michigan isn't paid the same as the administrative assistant at Michigan. They sure aren't denying themselves the fruits of the open market. It's Johnny Football who is deemed no different than a University of New Hampshire field hockey player."

Same old same old American BS. The establishment gets richer while the actual worker is duped into thinking that his time will come if he just works harder. Nothing different with college athletics IMO.


[Edited on September 13, 2013 at 5:43 AM. Reason : h]

9/13/2013 5:37:48 AM

Quote :

"The establishment gets richer while the actual worker is duped into thinking that his time will come if he just works harder. "

Get that communist bullshit out of here. Plenty of people in the US get ahead by working harder. I work with guys making 100k a year that only have high school educations because they work their asses off and put in the hours to make money. Comparing this NCAA stuff to the general work environment in America is a huge reach.

9/13/2013 7:32:02 AM

Quote :

" Plenty of people in the US get ahead by working harder. I work with guys making 100k a year that only have high school educations because they work their asses off and put in the hours to make money."

I'm not racist, my best friend is black.

9/13/2013 8:00:44 AM

It's a good article but its also a little hypocritical of the author to talk about the "real scandals" being about drugs and academic misconduct when he made a career out of uncovering "scandals" about phone calls and weak-link boosters giving benefits.

9/13/2013 8:18:29 AM

^^ WTF?

9/13/2013 9:55:37 AM

Quote :

"the actual worker is duped into thinking that his time will come if he just works harder"

but...ummmmmmmmm...they do. it's called the NFL

college is a 3-4 year paid internship for people who will go on to play in the NFL. for everyone else it's a chance to get a degree. now if you fuck up and go somewhere they fuck with your grades or restrict your major, that's on you.

college athletes are replaceable parts for the most part. the guys who go on to the NFL actually BENEFIT from the "share the wealth" system of college athletics. one johnny manziel isn't going to do shit on his own for 3-4 years without a college team. he's going to make millions because of the dozens of other "workers" with him who won't go on to the pros create an entire ecosystem that is needed for him to become elite. manziel needs the guys on the practice squad more than the guys on the practice squad need manziel

[Edited on September 14, 2013 at 9:37 AM. Reason : .]

9/14/2013 9:33:54 AM

That doesn't make any sence. Look at professional teams: they all get paid, even the shitty ones. You are saying that it is in an internship for a pro job in the NFL, but, how many players did we have on our team last year? How many of them got drafted? And how much money do you think was made from games?

It doesn't make any sence to me why some of that money can not legally go down to the workers, when all of the administrators and coaches are fucking getting loaded. The article raises a very valid point regarding the disparity between who gets to be rich and who is expected to just be altruistic.

[Edited on September 14, 2013 at 9:58 AM. Reason : f]

9/14/2013 9:56:40 AM