Everyone's getting rich off the NCAAs -- except the players
By A.J. Hayes
Played, not paid
Last week, Boston Red Sox players staged what had to be the most ludicrous wildcat strike in the history of labor relations. The entire Bosox team(sters) threatened not to board a plane bound for Japan for a series of games vs. the Oakland A's, unless club management, or major league baseball, or anyone else but the players themselves, forked over some serious cash.
Painting themselves as championing of the little guy, the Boston players said the trip was off unless each of the team's coaches, trainers and clubhouse personnel received the same $40,000 bonus that each of the players was to pocket for enduring the hardship of an all-expenses paid, first-class jaunt to Japan.
And they say politicians are out of touch with the average American wage earner.
To drive home their point, the players refused to take their positions for an exhibition game against the Toronto Blue Jays until the matter was settled, making paying fans sit on their hands for 90 minutes at Ft. Myers, Florida.
The world champs finally decided to play ball when MLB and the club agreed to split the cost of paying the support staff. Considering that the bloated Red Sox staff contained nearly 30 coaches, trainers and others last season, that figure came in somewhere in excess of $1 million.
Meanwhile, most sports fans across the nation - even those who know the clubs are traveling to Japan - could hardly give a damn about a few early season baseball games in Tokyo. When Boston and Oakland are done, they'll still have 160 more games to go.
Most sports fans across the nation are glued to their televisions watching athletes pour out their hearts and sweat in another sport - and receive not a penny. In fact, the players will be lucky to come away with a free t-shirt. It'll probably be a 50/50 blend too.
In case you don't own a television or haven't picked up a newspaper in the past couple of weeks, we're were in the midst of the NCAA basketball tournament, aka March Madness, aka the Big Cash Cow in Tube socks.
Every one remotely tied to the NCAAs, from the universities to CBS to the sports bars and the zillions of amateur bettors toting their cherished "brackets" will be racking in the dough this month.
Everyone is getting rich except for the one making it all possible - the players.
It's probably safe to assume that most of the corporate mucky mucks lining their pockets off the tournament are white, privileged, and couldn't dribble a basketball to save their county club members ships.
You don't have to assume - it's right there on your television in wall-to-wall coverage - that the players are African-American, and probably don't come from money.
The idea of paying college athletes for their back-breaking work is not a new one. But it's never been taken seriously. Sure, the cream of the crop will eventually get paid in the professional ranks. But what about the point guard who leads his team to the Sweet 16, but doesn't have any chance of turning pro.
The current system downright draconian. In addition to the colleges racking in the dough, the head coach is free negotiate deals with athletic shoe company to supply the players' footwear. The players get to wear the shoes for free and the coach pockets all the money - hey those Brooks Brothers suits aren't cheap.
Universities even sell faux jerseys and tee-shirts with players' names, and sock away all the dough.
It wouldn't do much to start to rectify the situation. Would it take much effort to set up a trust fund with 10 percent of the profits to be distributed upon graduation, or left in a rollover IRA-type account to be cashed in upon maturity?
Colleges would never consider it unless they were forced to. A boycott or even a delay to the start of the final four by players would certainly drive that point home quicker than a slam dunk.
Sure the players would be slammed as greedy by the colleges and corporations - but all they would have to say is 'takes one to know one.'
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