Are College Athletes the New Indentured Servants?
Okay, not a new idea, but as college coaches are free to get fired and quit (buyout clauses mean nothing), most athletes on scholarship are stuck at that college unless the college releases them. This means is a coach who recruited the athlete leaves for greener pastures, the athlete has to stay. If a university is rocked by a child rapist scandal, the athlete is forced to stay.
FIU recently fired their basketball coach, Isiah Thomas, and some of the players will not be allowed to leave the university.
‘We ask that under such circumstances with our mentor being fired you to give us the freedom of choice to ‘move in another direction,”’ said the letter, which carried the signature ”FIU men’s basketball team” and was e-mailed to Rosenberg and others by DeJuan Wright, who led the Panthers in scoring this past season. ”Please help us receive our athletic ‘releases’ so that we can find a coach and program which will be a good fit in our growth.”
College athletes are big money today, bigger than any college education costs. It’s time for an overhaul of the system.
and it’s a shame college athletes get NONE that money.
Even worse than being force to play at a school you want to leave is having to leave because you were injured making millions for your school. Those scholarships are renewed year to year. “oh, you destroyed your achilles tendon last season? sorry we can’t renew your scholarship” and then you need to pony up the tens of thousands of dollars yourself (which may of those kids don’t have) or drop out with no degree.
Also because of the NCAA regulations the money they get only applies to tuition and room and board. In addition to that they can’t really accept gifts from anybody. Depending on their family’s money situation a lot of these kids don’t have the cash to go home and visit or even to go out and see a movie. Most of them are below the poverty line.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/10/the-shame-of-college-sports/8643/
My concern is that just being a college student is turning into indentured servitude what with the cost of tuition and the debt many students will face upon graduation,