Wednesday, May 15, 1996
Emphasis on money-making with shoe, TV contractsBy Jeff Park
I think Josh White ("Reaching for the NBA money tree," May 14)
is disingenuous when he says that:
"There must come a time when self-interest subordinates itself
to a higher authority  namely, social responsibility, care
for America’s youth and respect for the college system. While this
statement is certainly a bold one, it is a reality that athletes
must face."
Athletes are self-interested to a fault  especially the
young ones who garner attention. What else can you expect? And
that’s not a bad thing either, because it doesn’t necessarily
preclude the high moral ground that White proposes. But ANY
successful person  whether in business, politics, athletics
or school  MUST have an inner drive that, I argue, is sparked
by self-interest. It’s the nature of the kind of beings we are.
Over the past few years, I’ve spoken to many basketball players
at the prep, college and pro levels. Very few are interested in
more than money and what they can get out of the system. This
"trend" that White alludes to of young players leaving college
early or skipping college altogether is indeed disturbing. But
rather than pointing his finger at the real culprits  shoe
companies, television, universities, the NCAA Â he blames
these young people!
Let’s not pretend that, for instance, UCLA is about giving
athletes an education FIRST (even during the Wooden years). These
young people have been miserably tossed aside by "the system" and
wouldn’t stand a chance in hell of making UCLA if not for their
athletic ability.
But what happens once they arrive? George Zidek is an anomaly in
terms of being a good student and an athlete. For every Zidek, the
court is littered with those who are in a alien world when they
enter an intellectual/academic arena. Phony classes, phony tests,
patsy classes, extra tutoring, correspondence tests, it’s not like
it’s a secret or anything. Read "Raw Recruits" Â it’ll make
your skin crawl to hear about the way these athletes are
manipulated. Education first? Get real.
The fact that a kid may enter UCLA as a player but not be
allowed to work to earn money is a joke. In fact, our school makes
so much money from it’s TV contract that it’s obscene  throw
in the Reebok deal and it’s sick.
There are so many rules and regulations governing what athletes
can and can’t accept/do, that when taken all together, become one
giant disincentive to attend school as a student athlete. In
essence, what playing for the UCLAs, Dukes, Carolinas, and
Kentuckys of the world amounts to is yet another arena where young
black kids are exploited for someone else’s financial gain.
Never mind the high morality, the debate over whether Barkley
should or shouldn’t be a role model  look at the facts, the
way this group of people are treated, and who gains financially
from that.
By saying, "When an athlete chooses money over education, this
is a value judgment which many kids are likely to mimic. With high
school dropout rates and teenage crime rates still very high, the
last thing that teenagers need is to see their role model ignoring
education in favor of pro-basketball. The value of a good education
is put below athletics. For the vast majority, a career in
athletics is impossible and therefore, the only message they retain
is that a good education is unimportant," White is placing an
unwarranted burden upon these young athletes that is simply unfair.
First, with high school dropout rates and teen crime, I would think
there would be at least one or two more important issues to address
besides young people seeing athletes forsaking college. Like
teacher salaries, educational funding, privatization, mentoring
programs, canon as pedagogy …
To blame these kids is to miss the whole point, because as we
speak, another kid in South Central laces up his NIKEs, while Phil
Knight, Chair and CEO of NIKE, Inc., watches the world from on
high.
Park is a 1991 alumnus.
… the court is littered with those who are in an alien world
when they enter an intellectual/academic arena.