Saturday, June 25, 2011

#1 Lions or Lambs? The Manipulation of the Student-Athlete

Where there is smoke, there is fire, as the old adage says. Well, somebody fetch one of those twenty-foot fire hoses because it looks like a volcano has revealed itself over NCAA headquarters and a firestorm is well in the brewing.

For the past couple of months, scandal has been the name of the game when it comes to college athletics, specifically college football. And we're not talking about East Great Plains State or Central Middle of a Random Valley University either. Blue blood has been spilled and the vultures are steady gathering overhead ready to pick at the corpses.

Schools with high name-brand recognition such as Ohio State, Southern Cal, North Carolina and Boise State have been caught in the NCAA cross hairs recently. Why? Because the NCAA doesn't like the thought of student athletes having friends with benefits. If everybody can't get some, than neither can the student athlete.

The list seems endless for the cache of items people are willing to hand out to college ballplayers. Cars, tattoos, apartments, hard cash, drugs, food, generous grades, rocket-jet packs with built-in night vision goggles (probably not yet on that last one...but sooner rather than later), there is no shortage of "illegal" perks that the players receive on top of the school sanctioned benefits that most students would never have access to.

So, who is to blame?

Is it the schools and their apparently either ignorant or inept staffs? Should it be those individuals whose blind love and admiration for their players outweighs any repercussions that could possible follow suit for their reckless generosity? Or, is it the NCAA's own fault for cultivating a culture of back-alley gift-giving because of their own overly harsh, asinine rules that mock today's culture?

All of the above are culpable in their own right. Their combined negligence has fostered in an era of untrustworthiness and ethical decay. That being said, there is only one true answer.

The student-athlete.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. So all these mavericks can lead these young studs to the trough with their promises of gifts and glory, but its the student-athletes decision on whether to take that sip or not. In this case, it might be a few asses instead of bucking broncos.

Let me be clear. The blame game is ultimately pointless and highly disputable. Nobody wins, everybody loses, and ties are far too frequent. However, in my perspective, there is one key factor that most seemingly sweep aside when analyzing the corruption behind collegiate athletics.

All of the athletes are students! Just because you're watched on SportsCenter cut a cool end zone flip or seen dragging monster-truck tires in an UnderArmour commercial doesn't dismiss the student-athlete label. If the pre-med kids were given the opportunity to film spots with the local shady car dealer, don't you think some would leap at the opportunity, too?

The student-athlete is given far too much latitude in being able to hide behind the veil of youthful ignorance and playing the hapless victim. Trust me when I say this, as a guy who has worked with young athletes my entire blossoming career in today's modern America, played sports my whole life, and because I'm in the proximate age group not too far removed from college. These dudes know what they are doing.

They know what they want and how to play the game outside of the lines and hash marks to get it. We live in more connected world than ever. And just because a guy comes from Littletown, Smallstate, where there are white picket fences and wholesomeness oozing out of the wazoo, don't think he can't be sophisticated enough to manipulate the casual city slicker or the forgiving fan base.

Student-athletes aren't dumb, despite what the majority may believe. They wouldn't be in college if they were. They're just way too savvy for their own good. That's what marketing machines and dotting families will do to a teenager's ego.

They build these budding athletes into charming, confident individuals who can carry a conversation and say all the right things. From birth, most student-athletes are conditioned more than just physically; they're being prepared mentally to hoist the burden that others are reluctant to carry:

Making money for others.

Raising a child to become a star athlete is an investment that requires pampering, making deals, and of course, major moola. These parents and companies put so much into kids, coddling them to the point of nausea, because they want the blue ribbon at the end of the race - a cut of that pay check.

A mother lets her son have six cars in five years while ruining her credit? She gets a house out in the country. A shoe company hands out tons of apparel at their own camps and tournaments, costing thousands with no sure return on investment? Exclusive rights to that mega-million dollar deal down the road. Its how the game is played.

So being groomed this way, to hustle and get what they want, why is it any surprise that players break NCAA rules? They don't care. Being selfish is what they know and it often outweighs their decent moral upbringing.

Some players claim lack of funds for their willing contributions to making universities millions of dollars is their reason for rebelling. While there is some merit behind that argument, the overall notion is preposterous.

The basically free education, endless tutors to ensure that education, access to better and healthier cuisine, exotic trips, literally pounds of exclusive, cool clothes/shoes, lavish award banquets, and school-endorsed, price knocked down housing isn't worth anything?? The journalism kid gets a free trip to the library that smells of body odor and broken dreams to study with other kids who are trying to manage to stay in school with no scholarship. Oh, and the diet coke is a buck-thirty. And his car is a rusty-red 1991 Geo Metro.

Then there even those student-athletes that receive a stipend to help soothe the sting of economic recession. Typically reserved for paying housing and non-campus food, that money goes towards more important things. You know, having that new 1080p flat screen or putting butterfly doors on the old school Chevy. Ah, the struggles of making grown-up decisions. 

This doesn't apply to all student-athletes and unfortunately the minority is viewed as the majority. There are some student-athletes that uphold that moniker with pride and resolve. If their career as an athlete doesn't pan out, then they move on with their life and get a job. And if they do make it in the pros, humility is still there riding on their shoulders.

And not all student-athletes are even treated the same. Freshman football sensation gets an occasional free meal at the local go-to spot and high-fives on campus. Seasoned, award-winning gymanastics guy get no recognition and waits at the back of the club line like everyone else. Unfortunately that is founded in what sport makes money, usually basketball and football, while everyone else gets sloppy seconds, leeching off of the funds that the two revenue-producing sports bring in. Still, that doesn't mean gymnists and wrestlers don't get theirs.

Also, each university is different. Some athletic departments make so much money they don't even need handouts from the university. Those schools can afford to offer the athlete more and keep their eyes from wandering and their minds from wondering what misguided adventure awaits in the back of an alumni's limo. Life has never been fair and young adults will be young adults despite all the blessings that lie before them.

I'm sure a big school like Ohio State had more to offer and better trained complaince than Baylor. Yet, while one boils in the cauldron of the NCAA, the other goes about its business trying not to ensure the same fate. And a big school like Nebraska seems to be safe and self-assured about its kids while a Boise State is being grilled for having a sleepover. Only the student-athletes are the common denominator.

Still, the seedy scandals that are erupting across the collegiate athletic landscape will not cease until change at all levels is initiated. Coaches need to be more than just coaches, families need to be more than just green lights, and marketing/ad companies need to quit treating student-athletes like cattle.

Television deserves its own special blame on a side note. The 24-hour news cycle, combined with agents and companies pushing the microwave button to create a bowl of "instant star" isn't helping the situation. Their competitive greed just pushes everyone else to be greedier and it ruins the overall product. Just ask the now talent reduced pro leagues. Cough, cough football and basketball cough, cough.

The NCAA needs to be more than just the nerdy, upstanding teacher who breaks out the paddle to punish student-athletes when they go astray. It needs to educate them on why taking free stuff is wrong and how it does affect others adversely. And that topic is still up for debate.

They need be held accountable as adults. It is more often than naught that a student-athlete's mind is just as mature as his or her body. If the Rhodes scholar isn't getting any slack when he gets a DUI, and heralded as graceful upon returning to the arena of academia, then why should the student-athlete be lauded for doing something similar?

Student-athletes need to get their collective minds right. There is more to life than self-pleasure and cash. The path to understanding responsibility can be jagged, mundane and slow, all things athletes try to avoid. Yet, the journey can often be more rewarding than the destination. I think that has been forgotten by more than just student-athletes.

In the meantime, for those student-athletes who are still motivated to get through college despite all the accommodations afforded to them, there is sure-fire way to get some much needed dinero. It might be more challenging than practicing in 90 degree heat with a surly coach chewing you out, but its money all the same. But if your collegiate contemporaries can do it, then so can you.

Apply for a loan.