Joe Nocera is “public enemy No. 1” to the NCAA
New York Times reporter Joe Nocera joined us today to talk about his column in in the New York Times comparing a recent ad from the NCAA to Orwellian doublespeak.
It's not just inaccuracies in the ad that anger him. He also says there are big problems with the student athlete mode overall:
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The real tragedy is the big revenue sport -- football and men's basketball -- player who spends four years, doesn't get an education, doesn't become a pro, and is basically tossed aside by the system as soon as their eligibility expires.
So what does Nocera propose?
My heretical notion is pay the players. Get rid of the hypocrisy. Let them have agents...put some money in their pockets, call them employees. Be honest about the situation. I would also give them six-year scholarships, which would allow them two years to actually study after their eligibility runs out...My view is that they have less to do with being a typical student and more to do with being an employee and they should be classified that way.
How does the NCAA feel about Nocera? He says they don't like him.
I am public enemy number one. They tweet about how awful I am. They blog about how awful I am.
Check out the ad, in case you missed it.
-Stephanie Curtis, social media host