College Basketball: Modern Day Slavery? Essay

Submitted By 38644mike
Words: 1618
Pages: 7
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Michael Smith
Composition I
Lydia Rogers
3/23/2013
Modern day Slavery?
Whenever I went to a sports store like Hibbits, Footlocker, or Champs I always made sure to look at the college basketball jerseys. But there was always something that stood out to me when I looked at the backs of the jerseys. There was no name on the back. I knew who the jersey belonged to because of the number on the front. I knew that number 2 for Duke was Jay Williams and number 4 was J.J. Reddick. For years I always wondered why they never put the names of the college players on the back of their jersey. The pro’s had their names on their jerseys. Years later I would find the reason out and it came to me as a mild surprise. College players are considered amateurs and universities aren't allowed to make money off of them. The players aren't getting paid and the NCAA has very strict rules against rewarding them with monetary or other types of incentives. It would be quite wrong for any organization to make money off of them while they receive no compensation. This rule is quite alarming considering the effect that it has on the players who would of went to the NBA had it not been for the one and done rule that was put in place by the NBA. The one and done rule is a rule that forces a high school student to be at least 19 or out of high school for one year to obtain eligibility for the NBA Draft. The one and done players are players who would of went to the NBA had it not been for the one and done rule forcing them to go to school for at least one year. Players like Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Anthony Davis, and Kevin Durant were more so forced to go to college under this rule. These players were also the number 1 overall draft picks in the NBA after they did their year of college. The one and done rule is a bad idea and it should be eliminated altogether because it not only effects the one and done players but it also effects the NBA and College academics and basketball. When a player only goes to college for one year he brings down the academic prestige of that college because he is only going there for three-quarters of a semester. He goes to fall semester of that year and then half of the spring semester because he will more than likely hire an agent thus forfeiting his amateur status and college eligibility. If a college has multiple players go to the NBA due to the rule then he will have to rebuild his program back up. This creates a level of inconsistency within the way college basketball is played. There will no longer be players who play within the confines of the team but they will play for themselves to get drafted.
When most people think about the one-and-done rule they think about how it affects the big time high school basketball player. Most of the experts know that these players are on another level and they garner the talent to compete at an NBA level. You can find out who these players are because they showcase most of them on ESPN after their season is over with. ESPN host events like the Jordan Brand Classic game and the McDonalds all American game. Players like Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, and Shaquille O’Neal were McDonalds All-Americans. The next crop of high school players that can go to the league off of their talents and probably would if not for the rule are Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker. They will also be participating in these events. The rule can affect the player negatively and positively. The positivity that the one and done rule has on the high school player is that it allows him to have the experience of college. It allows him to gain a better feel of himself off the basketball court. The negativity that it poses is the amount of money that these kids give up to go to college. Nerlens Noels is a college player who plays for Kentucky, many experts had him pegged to be the number 1 draft pick had he not gone to college. While playing a game against the Florida Gators Noels tore his ACL thus damaging
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