by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com.
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany began an interesting conversation last week, one that could open a Pandora’s Box of political issues among NCAA athletes. Delany admitted that NCAA athletes deserve more than the scholarships they are receiving right now, and this led to other power brokers in the NCAA to speak up on the issue.
The commissioner of Conference USA, Britton Banowsky jumped in, stating that “something has to give on this issue.” He also said that “unless the student-athletes in the revenue-producing sports get more of the pie, the model will eventually break down. It seems it is only a matter of time.”
Commissioner Delany continued to note that there is a disturbing amount of hypocrisy resulting from the fact that universities spend millions on coaches, but only a small fraction of that amount on scholarships for student athletes. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said that revisiting the issue could be a productive move.
“I have long thought that we should revisit the current limitations on athletic scholarships by expanding to the full cost of attendance,” he said. “This is a student-welfare issue that deserves full consideration at both the conference and national level. I look forward to that discussion.”
Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe admitted that commissioners were discussing the matter at recent meetings. ”This is a topic that BCS commissioners discussed at recent meetings and one that we agreed to review with our respective member institutions at spring conference meetings, which I intend to do at the upcoming annual Big 12 meetings,” he said.
I am happy to hear that NCAA commissioners are willing to accept the obvious: that you can’t run a multi-billion dollar business model without giving your employees access to their labor rights. The NCAA earns 40% more revenue during March Madness than the NFL earns during its post-season, and they earn 60% more than Major League Baseball. The fact that many athletes have families that remain in poverty is simply astonishing.
The NCAA’s commissioners are likely making these moves because they feel that their revenue-generating model is being threatened. There is a massive lawsuit being filed against the league for their use of athlete images on video games without compensation. Additionally, leaders in Congress are starting to wonder why the NCAA doesn’t have to pay taxes by claiming that their mission is focused primarily on education, not earning billions of dollars in massive TV deals. Most significantly, athletes are starting to ask the hard questions and receiving more opportunities to mobilize against their oppressors. The reality is that college athletes themselves could shut down the entire system instantly by simply refusing to play in the NCAA tournament without being properly compensated.
We shouldn’t expect much from the commissioners, since one rarely gives away wealth and power voluntarily. They will likely stall for a while, and then allow for modest changes in order to squash the criticism for a few years. The truth, however, is that an entire overhaul of the existing system, enforced by an outside agency, is the only solution to the NCAA’s hypocritical woes. Additionally, athletes must organize themselves and get access to legal/political support that will ensure that their rights are being protected.
Even the idea of the league paying athletes is not preferable to simply releasing many of the rules prohibiting athletes from accepting money from outside resources. The NCAA doesn’t have to pay a dime to allow a player to go down the street and do commercials for the local car dealership or accept financial support from a booster. Given that any of us have a legal right to accept money from nearly any source we choose, I’ve never understood why an athlete getting paid by a booster to play for a particular team has always been deemed to be so sinister.
It’s time to end the academic apartheid of the NCAA, where white guys walk away with most of the money and the black men have nothing to share with their families. Athletes do the work, so they deserve the compensation. If athletes aren’t getting paid, then no one should get paid. But if coaches, commentators and administrators are getting rich, then they have an obligation to compensate their sources of labor. That’s how things should be done in America.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and ALARM, the Athlete Liberation Academic Reform Movement. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here
