It's no surprise that sports-obsessed American schools are misplacing their priorities and their money.
Coach Mack Brown at Texas ought to be ashamed of himself. He typifies modern U.S. executive leadership: make sure I get what I deserve, and screw everybody else. While his colleagues at the university are facing pay and budget cuts, and students are facing tuition hikes, he's demanding a 60 percent salary raise.
I've long been in favor of finding a way for the big colleges to either (1) compensate players directly, or (2) create a revenue-sharing scheme whereby big, profitable sports schools re-distribute some of their revenue to less profitable schools, as the socialistic NFL does. After all, UT can't play itself 12 times a year; it can't make its $ millions in revenue without poorer schools to beat up on.
There is also the ethical issue of so many poor, black players bringing in so much money for the school, only to receive nothing in return -- not even a decent education. Indeed, most of the players even at a top-ranked program like Texas won't go on to play in the NFL:
"If schools are reduced to football factories where they happen to teach classes, everyone loses: particularly unpaid players who generate millions and are told they are being paid with academics. Without the academics, they nakedly become chattel, [cattle; property] delivering a new contract for their coach and a whole lot of school spirit without even the pretense of a functioning college in return."
By Dave Zirin and Snehal Shingavi
January 5, 2009 | The Nation
