Scandal, Lies, and the NCAA

Scandals, scandals everywhere. They grind me down. The Washington and Albany news reeks of them. Vanishing emails, outright bribes, and bribes disguised as donations to politicians’ charities. Influence peddling and influence buying. Yuck. Double yuck. Let us escape this garbage.

 

Let us flip to cooking and homemaking. Those are safe. Wait, wait. Some major TV chefs have been cooking up scandals. Instead, let us swing over to good ole’ reliable innocent college sports news. Amateurs don’t get involved in scandals, do they?

 

What do we have here, but a scandal? The NCAA drops a bomb onto the Syracuse University basketball program. It said Orange boosters gave cash and favors to players. Orange tutors forged schoolwork for players, the NCAA said. Orange staff faked academic achievements of players. The staff ignored drug policies to favor players. And, Orange coach, Saint Jim Boeheim, allowed and ignored the illegal stuff, according to the NCAA. (I didn’t see anything from the NCAA about how crooked the players were in all this. Obviously, they were.)

 

So, the NCAA cripples the Syracuse program — wipes out 108 wins, scrubs 12 scholarships over the next four years, bans St. Jim from ACC basketball for nine games. The ban is so complete, that I’m not sure he’s even allowed to watch a game on TV.

 

Shrapnel from this rips through the Orange program, the university, and the region. And the whole mess is shameful. In more ways than the obvious one. 

 

First, there is barely a big-school sports program that does not engage in a lot of this garbage. Virtually all big schools lie about it. They lie that they truly see players as students first and players second. The universities lie when they say they don’t lower standards to enroll superstars. They lie when they claim they don’t ignore academic rules for the stars. Pick a school. Dig into its programs. And presto, you can find a scandal.

 

Meanwhile, the NCAA lies about the shenanigans. The TV networks lie about them. They have their commentators rave about what good students some players are. Car companies sponsor student-athlete awards. All in an attempt to have you believe most players are serious about academics. They lie. Most top college sports stars cannot spell academics. They need an hour to count to 108.

 

I propose we end the lying. Let us face some truth. One report says Syracuse University makes $16 million a year on basketball. In profit. Not revenue, but profit. Basketball is not a sport there. It is a business.

 

At all top sports schools, football and/or basketball are businesses. They generate huge revenues and make big profits. The schools also leverage the programs for further financial gain. They hit up fans for donations — by the hundreds of millions across the country.

 

Meanwhile, they recruit these kids for one purpose only. To make money off them. That is the truth.

 

The NCAA sports program is largely a business as well. School and NCAA programs are as much a business as ESPN. Go to the Carrier Dome. Go to big football stadiums. They are wall-to-wall in commercials, promotions and marketing gimmicks, and ads that push suds and duds and cars. And it’s any product or service that the schools can make money on. Student athletes? Amateur competition? Let us stop the lying. This is business. The first, second, and third priorities are business, business, and business.

 

We ought to put an end to these lies. In the simplest fashion. We should force big schools to register their football and basketball programs as businesses. We should tax and regulate them as we do other businesses: Syracuse Orange, Inc.

 

There is nothing peculiar about this. Schools own businesses. They provide services. They sell things. They charge for them. They don’t pretend their employees are unpaid students. They should do the same with their sports programs. They should hire and fire and pay the athletes. Just like the NFL and NBA teams do. If the occasional athlete wants to attend some classes, that’s fine. As long as the schooling does not interfere with his work for the business. 

 

This would be a win-win-win. Players would make big bucks. And not have to lie about being students. Coaches would still be demigods — just like pro coaches. Fans wouldn’t care, as long as the circus rolled along. TV networks and the NCAA would rake in millions per usual. Everybody could stop lying and pretending. 

 

The priests at Notre Dame and St. John’s would deal with fewer lies in their confessionals.

 

Syracuse Orange, Inc. whips Duke Basketball, Inc. So what’s the big deal?

 

From Tom...as in Morgan.        

 

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home near Oneonta, in addition to his radio shows and TV show. Contact him at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com