Wow.
That's just all I can say after watching the ESPN film The Fab Five, about the Michigan basketball team's famous five freshmen starters. The team included former NBA stars and current NBA analysts Chris Webber and Jalen Rose, current Miami Heat forward Juwan Howard, Jimmie King, who had a short stint in the NBA and Ray Jackson, who never played in the NBA.
I knew the story of these guys impressive back-to-back runs to the NCAA finals, the second of which ended on a botched time-out call by Webber. I have watched all kinds of footage about this team, enough to tell you much of the story. But watching the film gave me a better sense of the magnitude of these guys' impact on college basketball; particularly financially.
But before I go into the financial aspect, I have to say the film did a good job of capturing the vulnerability of these guys. As a result of their accomplishment, people treated them more like experienced college players than as the young'ns that they really were. Watching these guys find out how popular they were when Muhammad Ali addressed them by their names was indicative of their innocence and unawareness of just how much of celebrities they had become.
Which brings me to the financial problem. The debate over whether college athletes should get paid has been ongoing for years. On one end are those who feel the free college education with room and board amounts to paying athletes and on the other end are people who see how much athletes at universities like Michigan are netting schools and view it as modern day slavery.
Mitch Albom, a Detroit Press columnist discussed when he knew Webber would turn pro after the second NCAA title bid. He was walking with Webber who asked him for money for gas and to grab a bite. Albom turned him down (per NCAA rules) and moments after they passed by a store selling a Webber jersey for $75. Webber voiced his displeasure that his jersey was selling for that much and he had no money to eat, and Albom said he knew Webber would declare for the NBA draft. Webber announced his decision a week later. The film also cites that the University of Michigan netted $10.2 million from capitalizing on the sales of the fab five merchandise. Prior to the group's emergence on campus, Michigan was getting less than $2 million. The collective value of their college education if all had graduated (Webber left after his sophomore year, Rose and Howard left after their junior years) would not make a dent on what they earned the school.
I can see why Webber and Rose would be roped into the cash for play scandal that cost the school its Final Four appearances years later. It was hard for these young guys to understand that they were bringing the school millions of dollars, but living on cereal and hot dogs. And for this reason, I support the idea of college athletes being paid. It would definitely eliminate many of these NCAA infractions schools are facing, help the struggling families of these players who are earning money for their school but can't help their families and give more players an incentive to stay in school and get a college education.
After a failed NBA career, King reportedly worked with Merill Lynch as a financial analyst at some point and now has a solar energy business. Jackson became involved with a non-profit to help young children. I'm glad to see they found a life beyond basketball. Sadly, it's not the case for many former star athletes (look up Maurice Clarrett or Lenny Cooke.) So while these guys could've resorted to the kind of lifestyles that unfairly earned them monikers like "thugs," "goons" and even "n***ers," they've become positive role models for others.
That is what they should be remembered for more than anything else.
I disagree with you about college athletes being paid. Just look at the current mess the NFL is in and then you will realize how it will be unwise to open pandoras box. Yes these stars are making money for the universities & athletic departments, but on the whole, tell me which schools are really turning a profit these days? There is a lot of meaning in the term STUDENT-athlete. That is, you're a student first, and an athlete secondary. If you're good enough to get paid to play a sport, then go pro. School is not about mortar & brick environments any longer. Now students can go at their own paces, online, at times, from the same schools they've always dreamed of going to. So i'd say put up or shut up. If you want to play college sport, then accept the reality of the situation, accept that getting a full ride or partial assistance IS a privilege in itself, along with all the other perks that come along with being a student athlete. The system is set up for ALL student athletes to do well in school. They have more access to support & resources (speaking from experience). I know some families might be struggling but I prefer to look at the bigger picture and choose to rather have a stable education system with a few levels of discomfort here and there, than to have a complicated structure that could degrade the value of education, for the sake of paying student athletes.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, it was an eye opening documentary. That statement Chris made was powerful and it hurts. I know it hurts when you are exploited and he did the right thing when he couldnt take it anymore. The rest of us just had to put up & shut up. And if you're in school, getting some sort of assistance, then you are privileged and thats less $$'s that your family would have had to cough out to see you through.
I couldn't agree with you more Wandoo. It was a very telling documentary on how the AAU lifestyle and freshmen phenoms have changed the scope of college athletics thus far.
ReplyDeleteFrom the perspective of college athletes getting paid, I'm of the opinion that they are getting the short end of the stick really bad. I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to be in Chris Webber's shoes, and realize that your jersey's are getting sold for $75 EACH, and you don't have any extra cash to put gas in your car ??
These schools make so much money of these players that you can't tell me an education, room and board is a free trade of. More often than not, the school doesn't really care about that education. All they're worried about is how fast you can run, how high you can jump and how many asses you can put in the seats. A lot of FSU athletes (football players btw) have these redundant degrees that let's face it.. wouldn't really give them a fighting chance in the world out there. And less than 1% of them actually make it to the draft.. so it's quite unfair to think that the schools really have the best interest of the athlete in mind whether the kid is producing or not. For the likes of Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Webber who have a sure career on the next level, you have a lot of 'em who do not.. and actually do not have the backing of solid parents to advise them on what to do in College.
Anyway, that's a totally different topic in general. You should probably check out Grant Hill's response to Jalen Rose calling the Black Duke players uncle Toms. It was a nice article, but I think it was a bit harsh, as Jalen Rose made those comments and remarks as an 18 year old.