Jeffrey Kessler, a high-profile sports labor attorney is suing the NCAA, and seeking nothing less than to “dismantle the entire system by which big-time college sports operate”.
That’s a pretty big goal, but one that he thinks is entirely possible.
NPR has a short take on the suit and the possible repercussions.
One of the questions brought up was about Title IX, which is one thing that those who argue in favor of college athletes getting paid seem to not understand. Yes football makes a ton of money at many universities, and men’s basketball makes a bunch, albeit significantly less than football. That money is what pays for all of the women’s and men’s teams that do not make money at all. Start paying those players and you are removing money, and opportunity, from female athletes, which is illegal according to Title IX. So if you want to pay college football players, that money has to come from somewhere, and it can’t be other athletic programs.
I still think we’re going to end up with colleges out of the big business of sports. That’s the only fair resolution. So long as academic institutions can act as minor leagues for pro leagues, and those same pro leagues can have age restrictions that force kids to go to college and not be paid, we are in for a morass.
Leave a Reply