The
University of North Carolina completed their investigation regarding
student-athletes who were pushed to sham classes over an 18-year period
involving over 3,100 students. The report, released Wednesday, says academic advisers in
North Carolina's athletic department colluded with a manager in the African and
Afro-American Studies department for student-athletes to take classes to boost
their GPAs and keep them eligible in their respective sports.
The classes, in place from 1993 to 2011 as
reported by espn.com allowed a student to write a paper of at least 10 pages
rather than attend lectures or meet with professors. Academic advisor Deborah
Crowder, who was not a professor, graded the papers. They typically earned an A
or B-plus grade.
According to the report, one former head football
coach, John Bunting, admitted to knowing of the paper classes and his
successor, Butch Davis, also admitted some knowledge. Current men's basketball
coach Roy Williams is steadfast that he did not know.
This all came to light when former UNC basketball star Rashad
McCants revealed to told ESPN's "Outside
the Lines" in June that tutors wrote his term papers, he rarely went to
class for about half his time at UNC, and he remained able to play largely
because he took bogus classes designed to keep athletes academically
eligible. McCants made the dean’s
list in the spring of 2005. The
same year he was part of a National Championship team at UNC.
I’m an avid sports fan, especially college
sports. My late father was a high
school teacher and coach, university administrator and athletic director. My family on both sides is full of
current and former educators and coaches.
Many friends/classmates participated in college sports, graduated, and
have gone on to have careers in a variety of fields and own their own
businesses. The revelations from
the UNC investigation stimulated many thoughts on a personal level.
There is enough blame to go around with the
revelations at UNC. What is not
discussed enough is why academic counselors and student-athletes would go the
route that UNC did to help students stay eligible. Unfortunately many student-athletes education K-12 did not
prepare them adequately for higher education at an institution such as
University of North Carolina.
UNC academic adviser Mary Willingham, who
questioned the literacy level of Tar Heels athletes and said UNC, had committed
academic misconduct before leaving the job in 2010. Universities are not held accountable
enough for pushing student-athletes toward majors that have a lighter workload
and don’t develop skills that will be marketable when they pursue employment
after graduation. Some universities
Liberal Arts degrees are a fancy way to say General Studies.
This story made me reflect on a conversation my late father had
with me in the car over 16 years ago when he was the athletic director at his
alma mater Grambling State University.
To paraphrase, he admitted that the NCAA has antiquated rules and are
making millions of dollars from basketball and football. A student-athlete cannot change the
rules while they are in school, what they can do is maximize the platform that
it gives them.
Student-athletes are first in line to register for classes and
schedules. Have unlimited access
to academic tutoring and support.
Travel and meet people from all walks of life. Instead of focusing on what the university or NCAA is
getting out of the deal, focus on what you can control and maximize that
opportunity and leave school debt free and receive a quality education.
I am a proponent of student-athletes getting compensation,
especially when it pertains to their likeness. That is another issue.
The education they receive is independent of any additional money. Another point my father made was that
in many instances parents get caught up in the hype. They do not push their child to focus on education or they
were not fortunate enough to receive a quality education during their formative
years. In both instances it
creates a quandary with attempting to keep the student-athletes eligible.
I’ve stated many times before that sports are a microcosm of
society. In August 2012 The Washington Post op-ed from Darryl
Robinson, who was a freshman at Georgetown University and not an athlete
addressed the difficult transition from high school to college academically. He attended some of Washington, DC’s
best schools and still was unprepared for academic rigors of Georgetown.
Robinson worked everyday to improve. He went to tutoring twice a week, and routinely attended his
professors’ office hours. He was able to express any frustrations and the
professors could understand that he valued his education.
Darryl Robinson is like many student-athletes that step onto a
college campus and face challenges adapting to the academic challenges whether
their high schools prepared them or not.
Some, like Robinson push through the initial struggles to have academic success;
others take short cuts as over 3,100 student-athletes did at UNC.
There is enough blame to go around. How about education reform so every high school student is
not in the position Darryl Robinson was in when he enrolled at Georgetown. Parents need to be held accountable for
getting caught in the hype machine of thinking their child will not need an
education and will make millions of dollars as a professional athlete.
Academic counselors and advisors not addressing the root of the
problem and just want to keep a player eligible so they will push them toward
courses and majors that will not help them later in life. Finally, the student-athletes,
even though they are young (18-23) there is some accountability on their
part. They agreed to choose this
route, but the reason it gets to that point is because adults failed them on
many levels before they stepped on a college campus.
UNC will be made the poster child for this issue, they are not
alone. My hope is that it will
begin a conversation and change for all parties involved in a student-athletes
life.
