Well, finally, a little sanity has been delivered by the Supreme Court regarding college athletes. A decision was announced yesterday regarding a lawsuit that challenged the policy of restricting compensation(in many forms) to those students who are participants in a university's sport/entertainment programs. For too many years, the N.C.A.A. has dictated the rules(by their governing elites and school program directors) that limit compensation, offering flimsy excuses such as "protecting" amateurism, offering scholarships to under privileged student athletes, or worse: saying compensation would only benefit wealthy schools, leaving underfunded programs to die on the vine.
Many looked upon the ruling body as nothing more than institutionalized, systemic racism. Here is a body of mostly white men at the helm of an institution that operates outside the boundaries of antitrust laws with the tacit approval of the U.S. Congress. Ergo, it is time for a change. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court acknowledged it in its ruling before the case arrived on the docket at the Supreme Court. Monday should be the "new" Juneteenth celebratory day. Given the high percentage of athletes of color involved in the highest profile sports of football and basketball, it follows directly that they will be most affected by the ruling. And most pundits agree: this is just the beginning of righting a serious wrong long overlooked by universities and Congress to the detriment of athletes and their families, including most whose careers end after their eligibility expires after 4 years. Perhaps we'll see some athletes playing at schools well into their 20's, perhaps not. It remains to be seen how this open door will "play" out.
Newly appointed Justice Brett Cavanaugh wrote an assent that spelled out in concise terms that the case obviously abridged anti-trust laws that forbid anti-labor anti-union acts meant to suppress workers and their rights to just compensation for services provided.
Finally, the day of reckoning is upon us: the fans in the stands will now be forced to witness a new era of college athletics where justice will prevail over the blinkered view of university provosts and the white masters of an elite body that approves million dollar compensation packages for coaches and A.D.'s while offering crumbs in the form of "scholarships" to a few top-ranked stars who are expected to reap their rewards in the professional ranks. Much of this transformation came as the N.B.A. drafted players from elite college programs as "1 and done" players jumped to the pros before finishing 4 years of college. Good for them, but it profoundly altered the landscape of college basketball programs (See Coach K @ Duke U.). Recruiters will now have new tools in their quivers to parcel out to all athletes targeted for their programs. Let the "Games" begin.
Stay tuned: more to come.
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