March Madness is upon us, which means that NCAA is ripe for criticism and comedian and talk show host John Oliver fired the first shot.
On Sunday, Oliver, who hosts HBO’s "Last Week Tonight" had a 21-minute rant about the NCAA, March Madness and the lack of adequate compensation for student-athletes.
In typical Oliver fashion, he broke down the financial discrepancies between what an event like March Madness brings in versus the incomes of the student-athletes that make it possible in a logical, humorous and damning way.
Oliver’s rant, while highly entertaining, is not a new take. He’s just the latest to step on the soapbox at a time when the NCAA is in the spotlight.
Oliver uses clips from college basketball greats Ed O’Bannon and Jalen Rose to emphasize his point by highlighting the various avenues in which coaches and institutions profit off the hard work of its athletes while declaring them students and not employees.
There’s also a bittersweet homage to the EA Sports video game franchise. Oliver creates “March Sadness 2015,” which declares itself “the most authentic college basketball game of all time.”
The game shows college players being yelled at by “a middle-aged millionaire” and losing scholarships to season-ending injuries, free lunches and autographs.
Oliver does his best to drive his point in a humorous way that even features a quip from O’Bannon.
In the end, Oliver said he’s just looking for student-athletes to be treated fairly.
“No one is saying that they need to be paid millions or hundreds of thousands, or the same amount, or even that every school needs to pay every athlete, but to pay everyone zero when the kid selling their jersey at the campus bookstore gets $10 an hour seems a little bit strange,” Oliver said. “And if it truly is all about the romance of amateurism, that’s fine. Give up the sponsorships and the TV deals, stop paying the coaches and have teams run by an asthmatic anthropology professor with a whistle. But if you’re going to change nothing, at least be honest about the business you’re engaged in.”
It is important to note that beginning with the 2015-16 school year, athletes will be given cost-of-attendance scholarships, which will cover miscellaneous expenses that go beyond the standard tuition, books, room and board.The amount per student-athlete will vary by school, but it will be more than they have been getting.
So while humorous, Oliver’s rant is a little outdated but still has its merits. And hey, it’s March Madness, so why not profit with ratings during the NCAA's most popular month? Turnabout is fair play, right?
Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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