Last Updated on September 26, 2015 by Alex Brown-Hinds
Last week the Wall Street Journal’s Allysia Finley published an opinion that California liberals were at it again for introducing Assembly Bill 475 that would require all NCAA associated universities give student athletes an additional $3,600 annual stipend from their $20 million revenue generated from media and merchandising profits.
It is estimated that the NCAA, a non-profit organization, makes $11 billion each year from televised college sports, specifically basketball’s “March Madness” and football’s various bowl games. Of that revenue, the athletes get nothing.
Even the coaches and their staff earn multi-million dollar annual salaries to coach these gifted athletes.
Many in the public are not aware that if the athlete is injured, he or she is left to figure out a different method for paying for school or has to dropout entirely because of a lack of tuition. Often these scholarships are given with annual contingencies for that very reason. This total control over our young athletes reminds me of some systems that have been practiced in the past and are now outlawed in America.
First there was “slavery” which was legal from 1619 to 1863. Slaves had no rights and helped build the economic foundation in America of which we now enjoy as citizens. Many people watched that practice and thought it was a fair system to work people for no wages but give them food and shelter in exchange for their free labor.
We had another unfair labor practice under the “Indentured Servitude” law. An owner was allowed to work a person for up to seven years and give them food, accommodations and no payment for their free labor. It was a binding contract and the person had no rights to speak out against the owner. Again many people watched that practice and thought it was a fair system for people to work for no wages.
After that we had (and still do in some states) a system of “share cropping” of which I have some personal experience because I worked under it. The owner will give you food and a house to live in during your agreement to work the farm and share in the profits after the crops are harvested. Some people were able to live well under this system depending on the owner but the majority of the share croppers left the farms with only the clothes on their backs and no place to go.
Just like the athletes of today it depends on the coach of the team as to how athletes are treated. If you attend a school where the coach put your academics first and sports second, then you make out good because you leave with a degree in hand.
Now we have the bigger than life NCAA which is run by a group of individuals that set the polices that govern the honed skills of our young and gifted boys and girls and give them nothing in return while the owners make billions of dollars.
In the article, Finley even suggested that low-income athletes should take out Pell Grants to cover any additional cost while attending college and playing ball. This is a new one for me. She is suggesting that now the student should take out a loan and give it to the college or university to play on the team. Neither the person in slavery, indentured servants nor sharecroppers had to do that.
So in my business opinion the Wall Street Journal is suggesting a new system of Pay to Play for the student athletics in America. Also California is leading the way to ensure our students are treated fairly and not being exploited by greedy hungry organizations exploiting them financially.
In my opinion this “pay to play” practice must stop.