"I think you would compare the NCAA to Al Capone and to the Mafia,” Congressman Bobby Rush (D-Illinois) said Tuesday at a congressional forum on college sports.
However radical this comment might seem, I believe Rush isn’t too off base with his opinion. In fact, the NCAA is much more greedy and deceptive than Capone’s gangsters ever were.
At least Capone and his gang were known for their Robin Hood sort of mentality–steal from the rich, give to the poor.
The NCAA has no such aspect of civility. Its attitude is to hoard every cent, to ignore the scores of wallet-strapped athletes.
So far, it’s working out pretty well for them.
And at least Capone and his crew flaunted the fact that they were the bad guys.
The NCAA, meanwhile, continues to insult the intelligence of the general populous, successfully feeding us their B.S. explanation as to why they don’t have to give one cent to the thousands of athletes that milk their billion-dollar cash cow.
Students first, athletes second.
Dick Vitale tweeted yesterday on Rush’s comments, “(I) wish (politicians) would stay involved in getting ppl jobs & not deal with college sports issues.”
Agreed, but we just might need politics to knock the NCAA off its high horse.
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