Time for the free market in college athletics?
News broke today that the University of Oklahoma must forfeit its wins from the 2005 season because some of its players were paid by a car dealership for work they did not perform.
The NCAA said Oklahoma was guilty of a “failure to monitor” the employment of the players.
Are you kidding me? Failure to monitor its players employment? Now as a private organization I’m cool with the NCAA making whatever rules it wants, but does anyone not believe that are not thousands of collegiate athletes who are getting paid under the table some how?
What about this - schools are free to offer athletes up to $20,000 in addition to full scholarships as a stipend for their time. or better yet go for a complete competitive bidding situation - it may give top altheletes a real reason to stay in school longer. It would simply confirm what the sports world already knows. These aren’t really student athletes. They are athletes their school are making millions of dollars on. Give the kids a piece of the pie, they are already getting it anyway.
Hmmm, could this same argument be made about drugs? The government’s not able to stop it, just get in on the action by taxing and regulating it.