The NCAA isn’t one of the most well liked entities in sports and apparently, that dislike made it to the podiums of Super Bowl media day.
Seattle Seahawks defensive back Richard Sherman and defensive end Michael Bennett railed against the NCAA when asked about the treatment of college athletes, the demands on their time and whether or not they should be paid.
"I think the NCAA is one of the biggest scams in America," said Bennett, who went to Texas A&M. "These kids put so much on the line. They [the NCAA] say, 'We give you a free degree.' That's like me owning a restaurant and saying, 'I'll give you a free burger.' It makes me so mad and irate. Universities need to do more for the student-[athletes].”
Apparently, Bennett had not been informed that the NCAA’s five major conferences — the ACC, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12 and Big Ten — last week adopted a plan to not only pay for the tuition, room, board, books and fees of student-athletes, but also various costs of attending college, including personal expenses and transportation.
And either had Sherman, who spent a part of his media session railing against the lack of understanding regarding the time demands on student-athletes.
"I don't think college athletes are given enough time to take advantage of the free education they're given," Sherman said. "It's frustrating because a lot of people get upset with student-athletes and say you're not focused on school and not taking advantage of the opportunity you're given.
"I would love for a regular student, for just one semester, to have a student-athlete schedule during the season and show me how you balance that. Show me how you would schedule your classes when you can't schedule classes for 2 to 6 o'clock on any given day.
"Show me how you're going to get all your work done when you get out [of practice and meetings] at 7:30 or so and have a test the next day and you're dead tired from practice and you still have to study and get the same work done."
Sherman, who told the reporter he appreciated the question before going on his 640-word rant — the longest answer he gave all day — also noted that despite all the time invested in the sport, student-athletes didn’t have enough money to enjoy what little free time they did have.
"And people are upset that student-athletes need a little cash," Sherman said. "I tell you from experience that one time I had negative 40 bucks in my account. It was in the negative more times than positive. You have to make a decision whether you put gas in your car or get a meal.
"People say you get room and board and they pay for your education. But to [the school officials'] knowledge, you're there to play football. Those are the things coaches tell you every day. Luckily I was blessed to go to Stanford, a school primarily focused on academics. But as [former Stanford coach] Jim Harbaugh would attest, we were still there to play football."
This isn’t some new argument, but it is becoming a tired one. Sherman graduated Stanford with honors and took full advantage of everything his education had to offer. But he — and every other student-athlete — knew exactly what he was getting into when he signed on to be a student and be an athlete. It’s demanding, but it does come with a free education, and quite honestly, it’s not too much different from a student who gets a scholarship, but has to maintain a high GPA to keep it. Athletes are only required to keep a 2.0 GPA. So while Sherman paints this picture of keeping his nose in a book for 90 percent of his college career, there are plenty of athletes who take full advantage of their free education by doing the bare minimum while making sure to attend every party possible.
Bennett, who again, has been far too busy with preparing for the Super Bowl to keep up with college news, has a plan to compensate college players for their time.
"I think the NCAA should come up with a plan for college athletes to receive some of the money they bring into the schools,” Bennett said. “My school, Texas A&M, I think makes $50 million just on jersey sales. So I would say pay $60,000 [to student-athletes] for every year you stay in college. Keep that in a 401(k). After you graduate, hold that money until you are a certain age and then you get the money."
OK, this plan is absurd and unrealistic and $50 million on jersey sales? What? Colleges would go broke if they tried to pay EVERY student-athlete $60,000 a year in addition to the basics of tuition, room, board, books, etc. Most college students don’t make $60,000 in their first job, but the third-string linebacker, who doesn’t see the field in two seasons, should be making $60,000 a year? OK.
Look this is a much longer argument for another forum, but shelling out more $2 million yearly for student-athletes on top of the other millions that are already shelled out for collegiate basics would put most programs in the red.
While several student-athletes, such as former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, have painted a rosy picture of college athlete life — Winston claimed that he didn’t need more than the scholarship he was given — Bennett painted a deplorable picture of athlete life during his time at A&M, which is why the steep compensation would be the only solution to making athletes feel better.
"I think there are very few schools that actually care about the players," Bennett said. "Guys break their legs and they get the worst surgery they could possibly get by the worst doctors with the worst treatment."
Yeah, that Dr. James Andrews guy, who did Braxton Miller’s shoulder and many other major collegiate surgeries, is the worst.
"They don't understand," Bennett continued. "When I was in college, I was going to class and some student came up to me and said, 'I'm paying your tuition.' I said, 'You don't pay my damn tuition. My mom paid that when she worked two jobs and I woke up every morning at 6 a.m. and worked hard.' Student-athletes don't get enough credit.”
So today, when you’re out and about on a college campus, hug a student athlete. Apparently, they need it.
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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!
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