This, from the NY Times article yesterday: “The N.C.A.A. did not dispute that the University of North Carolina was guilty of running one of the worst academic fraud schemes in college sports history, involving fake classes that enabled dozens of athletes to gain and maintain their eligibility. But there will be no penalties, the organization said, because no rules were broken.”
There you have it. In black and white. Couldn’t be any clearer. The NCAA is a powerless, gutless, pitiful waste. It exists solely to line the pockets of its executives and big-time member schools through the exploitation of young (mostly black) athletes. So I say, let’s just get rid of it entirely. No more NCAA. Fire every last executive, investigator, secretary and employee. Shutter every last “blue ribbon commission.” Close down every investigation. Who needs them anyway. Save a lot of money and headaches for everybody. Hell, if you can’t punish a school for engaging in “one of the worst academic fraud schemes in college sports history,” what’s the point?
And while we are at it, let’s drop the charade of the “student-athlete” as well. It’s a joke and everyone knows it. From now on, players can openly solicit contracts and play for whatever “school” pays them the most. Screw it. Doesn’t matter what their high school grades or SAT scores are. Who really cares about that. Certainly not the NCAA. They can go to class, or not. Entirely up the them. No papers, no tests, no grades or any of that crap. They can unionize, engage in collective bargaining, go on strike, whatever they want. When their 4 years are up, if they decide to stay that long, they get a nice, post-game handshake and, if they negotiated it, a juicy little termination bonus—and no diploma. If they want an actual degree, they can come back when their playing career are over, and take real courses, with real teachers, get real grades and pay real tuition. And in the meantime, assholes like Mark Emmert and the rest of those NCAA clowns, can go out and get real jobs, with real responsibilities, and earn an honest living for once in their pathetic lives.