March Madness

March 26th Assignment

It is horrifying that America is so drastically run by greed and power that rarely does anybody stop to see how every choice he or she makes affects others.

March Madness is an event organized by the NCAA that makes billions of dollars from the talent of college basketball players. This event rakes in billions because people love entertainment, however, the NCAA has not fairly distributed the profits. 

The NCAA believes that college athletics is "purely commercial"; the majority of their representatives believe that it's okay to not pay the basketball players since they say: "it is a great opportunity for the college students to develop their skills and talents so they can go further in the sport." Mark Emmert an executor of the NCAA said: "Student athletes don't deserve to be paid as professionals because they have access to the best educational opportunities." The NCAA makes all the athletes sign a long agreement that essentially turns all their rights as over to the NCAA. 

College sports is not "purely commercial", it is professional except for the athletes do not get paid. Because of this fact, college sports can be classified as exploitation. The players generate all the money, but they don't receive any of the profits. Not only do they not get paid, but they also don't receive travel benefits of for the players and their families. The athletes play because they love the sport, but when they play through the NCAA it's a great detriment of the players. Inherently NCAA sports is a labor force.

Sonny Vaccaro has shed light on this situation so there will be an end to the exploitation of college athletes. Sonny sued the NCAA and began a lawsuit to rectify this injustice which thankfully has provoked the NCAA to begin changing their customs regarding the treatment of college athletes. 

Sadly, there are so many forms of human exploitation that are ignored and even unconsciously endorsed. But thanks to Sonny Vaccaro and people like Michael Lewis (author of The Blind Side) college sports exploitation is on the decline.