The emancipation of the college athlete

College sports as a whole has evolved from a lowly test subject to an unbridled beast that only knows how to exploit those that they claim to serve. Does that mean that every college program is dirty? The answer to that question is not necessarily. Former Ohio State coach Jim Obrien's firing several years ago comes to mind. Who can forget the story of Albert Means being sold to the highest bidder which turned out to be Alabama. What about Stripper University I mean Colorado and its disgraceful sex scandal involving recruits.

It's sad how it is an NCAA violation to help assist poor kids with some of the basic necessities that everyone needs in life. When they sell cocaine on campus (sorry Jimmy Johns) or steal lap tops (sorry Marcus Williams and A.J. Price) then we get all self righteous spewing out the moral code of how college athletics provides a stable environment that is capable of assisting "student athletes. Yeah right.

Recently Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel did a follow up profile on former high school All American Brandon Jennings. Sonny Vaccaro who's known worldwide for his basketball camps with Adidas helped to "broker" the deal that netted Jennings with a multi-million dollar contract. He claims that he didn't get anything out of it. That is about as believeable as David Duke and Al Sharpton being spotted having dinner at Silvia's in Harlem. Jennings appears to be a PSA for why kids should go to college in the states considering his very different life overseas.

I get that he was homesick but he seemed ill prepared for such an experience. He has probably put a dent in college bound kids strongly considering their options to play professionally overseas. He wasn't the right kid to set the tone. Metaphorically speaking Jennings would be the Claudette Colvin of this movement rather than Rosa Parks. Parks came 30 years earlier in the form of Spencer Haywood, Darryl Dawkins, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant. The NBA shut its doors to the young men who were actually prepared to play professionally after the 2003 draft inserting a rule that kids must be 19 and a year removed from college.

Why do you think Jackie Robinson was chosen over Negro league stars such as Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige? Certainly not because he was the best player. In order to revolutionlize anything in America, there must be a pristine plan packaged in the form of an exceptional talent that can break barriers changing the traditional and conservative psyche of the American public. (Cue up Tiger Woods)

College football isn't that simple due to the overall physicality of the league but it doesn't mean that college administrators at the division one level shouldn't look into compensating these kids with some form of a stipend. Let's be honest, its already going on indirectly. For years the big stars have lived in off campus apartments and been driving shiny new "whips" to prance around town. Nothing like seeing your star running back in an Escalade sitting on twenties right?

It's easy to cover it up when people keep their mouths shut and of course when the "program" is a winner, you won't hear a rat piss on cotton. The term program sounds like a shady operation if you think about it. Players and fans a like have been bamboozled into believing the image of college programs following the rules and keeping the "best interest" of players intact. I get the sense that some are reading this blog for the first time and is in need of more evidence. Ladies and Gentleman of the Jury let me present to you Rhett Bomar.

This kid got kicked out of school at Oklahoma for getting something he really deserved. Head coach Bob Stoopes was willing to protect the program at all cost despite Bomar's stellar performance as a freshman. He cut ties with Bomar faster than a televangelist would if he got caught with a hooker he was trying to "counsel" at his hotel room. Was it his fault that an employer told him to show up for a few hours to be paid like he worked for a full two weeks? Tell me you wouldn't take that deal as broke college kid chilling for the summer in college town USA.

How many CEO's are robbing their shareholders with excessive time spent on the golf course rather than in their board (bored) meetings? Are you now on espn.com while on company time? How about facebook or myspace? Are you reading this blog from your desk at work? Honestly you're just as guilty as Bomar and the booster that hooked him up. I know, I know this is a different scenario, right?.

College players are unpaid professionals in waiting. The players should be compensated for the billion dollar industry that the NCAA has become. Isn't the whole idea of going to college about preparing yourself to earn a living? If you were the sole reason why an business enterprise was profitable wouldn't you want a piece of the pie? Sure you would. Most of our employers cheat us with their "profit sharing" bonuses that they give us. Most of us deserve more than what we get but employers are rarely fair with their frontline employees who are essentially the lifeblood of their company's success. Could our careers as common people be the culprit of our skewed view on this issue?

Prostitution is known as "the oldest profession" but I'd like to introduce to you her first cousin. Ladies and gentleman I present the second star witness of my case - "Exploitation". Please spare me with that notion of college players being compensated with "scholarships". First, one has to be a scholar before the ship can sail. For every Myron Rolle you have 10 players who have their homework done by an "academic" counselor. (Cue up Tennessee and Florida State) Have you seen some of the majors of these players? What about their graduation rates? The Defense rest...

How in the world did Dexter Manley set foot on a college campus? How did he fall through the cracks in elementary, high school and college? We all know the answer but we're to busy surfing the web looking at the various sites that tell us about our favorite program's recruiting exploits. Most of us aren't really aware of the underworld of how college athletes are coddled, paid and falsely worshipped by the runners, boosters, media, coaches and groupies.

The recent scandal at Uconn makes Kelvin Sampson blush considering the amount of phone conversations that the Huskies coaching staff had with the recruit in question. This latest scandal speaks to how much the recruiting world has changed in major college sports. Uconn will be the sacrifical lamb discussed, chastised and dissected in the media but will anything change? Of course not.

The AAU basketball circuits are already heating up as we speak. 7 on 7 high school football clinics are being set up all over the country for top recruits to be" evaluated" by major programs. Recruiting websites will keep us informed on the next "can't miss" prospect. Like crackheads we will compromise our better judgement and accept the garbage that matrix tells us.

The root of the word ignorance is ignore. WE have ignored this problem for to long. That's why I support kids making their own decision to forgo college or leave college early when the opportunity presents itself. Sure there will be casualties but the same can be said for any industry or human endeavor in life. Ask Gary Coleman or any child star of the 70's 80's and 90's what their lives were really like. Those who advocate college are the same ones who turn a blind eye to the social and human needs of the kids they make money on.

Morally can we really impose on the liberties of those who choose the unconventional path? The answer is no. Do most who advocate college really have the best interest of these kids in mind? Very few of them do. College should still be an option and not a mandate which imposes on the right of people to make their own choice. This debate is similar to the equation that remained unbalanced in the movie blockbuster The Matrix. The anamoly isn't your favorite team's next 5 star recruit. The culprit is our society's love affair with hypocrisy. Ignorance is truly bliss......