The Role Of Slavery In College Football

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Slavery is defined as “one that is completely subservient to a dominating influence” ( Webster Dictionary ). The United States of America abolished slavery on December 6th, 1965 when Congress ratified the 13th amendment to the Constitution. In the current age, the governing body of most college athletics, The National Collegiate Athletic Association, acts as the driving force behind nearly 460,000 “Slaves” lives. College athletes in the modern age are equivalent to a slave of times past. Amateurism is the chain that binds athletes to the universities and the ncaa is the one condoning it. At the present time, College Football alone brings in most of the money that is available in college athletics. In 2014 alone, The Southeastern Conference brought it $572.4 million and it only costs $17.2 million to operate the conference. The estimated cost spent on athletic scholarships is $32,000 per scholarship. The amount of money a college athlete receives is $0, which is essentially a slave wage. According to former college athlete Jalen Tabor, a University of Florida football player, “....Players Ain’t Get A Penny. Modern Form Of Slavery”. The comparison is made to being a slave is a fair one considering both work for little to nothing, receive food and shelter, and are controlled by a force that will not tolerate disobedience. The …show more content…
A slave in value is worth ”in 1860 approximately $1600” and in today’s costs would be “ a figure of $31,422” ( Rutgers University ). To draw further comparison to a slave a college athlete will receive clothes occasionally. Not only is going to college for athletics like slavery but it is also like a slave market for young slaves. Universities and booster act as the slave buyers and the recruiting process has been corrupted because of this. The root of many problem in not only college athletics, but as history itself as time has shown