by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World.
I’ve always been a big fan of South Park. I’ve also been a highly critical fan of the NCAA. Most problematic has been the NCAA’s insistence of violating the labor rights of college athletes and their families by creating a set of laws that keep athletes and their families from enjoying the billions being earned by administrators, coaches and commentators, who are mostly white. This academic apartheid amounts to a massive wealth extraction from the African American community, as the NCAA earns more ad revenue during March Madness than the post seasons for Major League Baseball and the NFL.
South Park, true to form, mocked the NCAA in an episode about a “Crack baby basketball league.” In the show, they create a structure where crack babies are recorded fighting over balls of crack. They earn millions of dollars, live a life of luxury and then attempt to explain why not paying the crack babies or their families is OK because it is “against the rules” (which are, ironically, written by the men in charge). One of the characters, the notorious racist Eric Cartman, actually visits The University of Colorado Boulder to find out how they make money off of slave labor so that he can find better ways to exploit the crack babies in his possession.
The episode is great and on point. Two clips can be seen below:
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of ALARM, the Athlete Liberation Academic Reform Movement. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.
