By: Emmett Lynch
Over the past decade, collegiate athletics has grown to become a worldwide phenomenon. As generations pass, the pursuit to the professional league is ruthless and may even be inequitable. The college sports system is orchestrated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA defines themselves as a ‘non-profit organization’, their job is to regulate athletes of 1,281 institutions, conferences, and most importantly, individuals. This system sets rules and boundaries of everything them, as a company can gain, and everything the players cannot gain. There have been many accusations that suggest the NCAA and the college sports system takes advantage of players in many ways.
This topic is inevitably relevant and will continue be for decades to come. The U.S .culture of Collegiate Sports will always be timely and eye catching, especially since we are now living in the Digital & Social Media age. The relevance of corruption in NCAA Sports will forever be fresh because it is a cycle where new kids by the thousand are sorted out and bought by the NCAA annually. The NCAA gives the coach or owners enough money to go buy whatever player they choose and they choose them by height, weight, speed, and strength. All of the things that are beneficial to them and their brand of men and women. The player is often bought out with none other than a full ride scholarship that guarantees them carefree college & freedom from their parents.
Whenever a parent hears ‘Full Ride’ they are ready to ship their child off to wherever that ride may be. But what the parent or player does not know is that once they “sell themselves” to you, they rarely ever are the same and can’t get back the years spent in the institution.
Former Northern Illinois football player, Jarvus Mitchell, recalls “My mom always said whatever school pays for you is where you are going, no question.” Even if the institution has nothing to offer them besides football, the player still attends the university no matter the risk. Once an athlete signs their letter of intent, the player is officially property. Therefore, they must obey all orders given, eat when they are told, report to them whenever they are told, go to class, go to sleep, and the list goes on & on. Many athletes never find out their purpose in life because they are put into a mold where they can only be an athlete. Not to mention, the coaches who are in charge in the NCAA are often involved in scandals exploiting or taking advantage of the players. This is the cycle that has been going on for decades on end and will continue.
There are countless reported scandals that have come to the surface about corruption throughout the NCAA and its coaching staffs throughout the past decade. The most recent story that just went worldwide is the FBI investigating the University of Louisville head coach, Rick Pitino and the school’s apparel partner, Adidas. Coaches throughout the NCAA were just hit with felony charges after bribing top recruit Brian Bowen’s family with $100,000 if their son went to their school and that their son would be handed the starting job and would have to sign with Adidas ‘when’ he goes pro.
It doesn't stop there; in an article by ESPN Senior Writer, Mark Schlabach, Pitino was fully aware of the scheme and help facilitate the deal. Adidas executives was indicted as well for financing the deal as long as Bowen agreed to sign a max deal with Adidas when he went to the professional league. Bowen was also at risk because once the scandal hit the air, he was ruled ineligible before he could even play a college game. Bowen’s attorney, Jason Setchen, came to his defense saying that Bowen was not aware of the alleged activities. Setchen released a statement saying, it is unfair for Brian or any student-athlete to try and punish them for actions of others who are not in their control.”
This statement was very underrated and overlooked. In a article by the Presidential Leadership Academy, student-athletes are often at the short end of the stick, especially when it comes to other people’s actions, including the NCAA. A Those other people being the NCAA or the coaching staff affiliated. Pitino has been coaching for over 40 years and was inducted into the 2013 Coaching Hall of Fame. When asked about the allegations, Pitino stated, “I had no knowledge of any payments to any recruit or their family.” Pitino was put on paid leave amidst the allegations, but was ultimately fired by the Louisville Basketball program September 25th, which was very shortly after the bribery scandal hit the air. This is not his first infraction adding to the corruption within the college sports system. This is not Pitino’s first scandal, he was also under FBI investigation for hosting prostitution sex parties for when big recruits came for a visit to campus.He is just one of the products inside of the system and has been coaching for more than 40 years; what does that tell you? It tells you that corruption has been alive for years and it’s even bigger than just coaches, it even reaches corporations. This is not a conspiracy, these are facts.
We all know about the main culprits involved in the scandal when it surfaces; but often the players whose careers and lives who were shattered by things like this are not considered. We all know someone who could have made it to the pros, but when they don't their life goes down a drain and no one ever hears from them again. Why is that? Mainly because athletes are summoned to universities in rural areas that have nothing to offer them but football and are promised a chance to play the sport; and that the only thing that was stopping them from reaching their goals would be them. Okay, now the coaches have gotten the athlete, and then they move on to the next person, town, or number and tell them the exact same thing.
There have also been athletes who have acted as activists, and going against the NCAA for their tyranny. One of the players is a kicker who played for the University of Central Florida. His name is Donald De La Haye, and his scholarship and education was taken away by the NCAA because he was a very popular Youtuber and refused to comply with the University and the NCAA’s demands to stop making his videos. De La Haye chose to keep his youtubing career, thus speaking out to the public on the corruption of the NCAA and college football system.
When asked why he chose keeping his youtube account, De La Haye stated, “ I feel like it’s time for a change, we as student-athlete are constantly exploited and I am taking a stand.” Shortly after releasing that statement, De LA Haye received vast amounts of publicity from ESPN, Bleacher Report and other major sports networks for his decision ultimately rocketing his career to new heights. He is an Internet sensation with over 10 million YouTube views and over a half million subscribers. Although De La Haye’s youtube channel has grown, he still desires to go to college and get a college education. Unfortunately that dream cannot be fulfilled because De La Haye was just doing what he loved outside of sports. That is one of the worst things a student-athlete can experience, especially if they have other passions besides sports. Many people just assume the athletes have it easy because the majority of their schools is taken care of financially. Not many people think about the overly-demanding schedule the athletes are under once they get to school. “We have weights at the crack of dawn, then we go to school for 4 hours, then we have meetings leading up to practice. That’s about another 5 hours, and then we’re supposed to have the energy to do homework and get perfect grades”, stated UNI football player Elijah Campbell, the 22 year old senior from St.Paul, Minnesota. Campbell was a transfer from Northern Illinois, but then transferred to Northern Iowa due to the ‘politics’ of the college football system. That transfer ultimately being one of his best decisions as his talent was well-used and appreciated by the Panthers. Not every story is polluted with the unseen harsh realities of the game on a collegiate level, but the more we can stop those stories from happening, the better.
It has been a known fact that college athletes are signed into somewhat signed into enslavement and are underneath dictatorship. These are just a couple of many examples and the more these issues are addressed, the closer the world is to finding a resolution to the system we call the NCAA.
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