Don't blame the player, blame the NCAA system
By Jake Price | Mar. 1, 2018Since details of the FBI investigation into the NCAA last week exposed some “shocking” revelations about the corruption within college sports, we have seen analysts, economists and professional players offering their opinions on how to fix what is clearly a broken system. These ideas include paying players small stipends for their services, or eliminating the concept of amateurism, which would enable talented players to hire agents, sign endorsement deals and profit off their likenesses. While it should be obvious by now that the multibillion-dollar corporation that does not pay its labor force needs a 21st century reevaluation, the appropriate treatment of the current NCAA players caught up in the probe has been more ambiguous. Last week, as the Michigan State Spartans clinched the Big Ten title with a win over the Badgers, fans at the Kohl Center serenaded Spartans’ sophomore wing Miles Bridges with chants of “cheater.” Bridges, a projected lottery pick this upcoming draft, saw his name surface in the recent investigation.
