The Supreme Court has accepted the NCAA’s appeal in a case on the restrictions on compensation for college athletes. It comes on the heels of the NCAA being dragged into court over discrimination, and it highlights the corrupt structure of the organization.
The NCAA’s appeal comes after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against its ability to restrict compensation for college athletes on antitrust grounds. The NCAA has been hauled into court over antitrust law repeatedly by former college athletes.
Another lawsuit was brought against the NCAA last week by three athletes at historically black colleges and universities. These athletes alleged that the NCAA’s academic requirements for player eligibility are discriminatory against HBCUs. While this would normally sound ridiculous, the athletes have a point. It turns out that 72% of teams that have been banned from postseason play by the NCAA are HBCUs. It has been made clear that the rules don’t apply equally either — the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill got away with a slap on the wrist after admitting to enrolling athletes in fake classes for 13 years to keep them eligible.
The NCAA is a racket. UNC, like Auburn and Michigan before it, received no punishment because it is a major program in college football and basketball. HBCUs are bit players, so they are fair game for breaking the rules. For the NCAA, it’s all about the money, which is why it has still resisted the push to allow college athletes to profit off of their own name, image, and likeness.
Aside from the antitrust issues, the NCAA has been dragged kicking and screaming toward giving college athletes their NIL rights by state legislatures in California and Florida. The issue has been bubbling up to the federal level as well, most recently with two separate Senate bills that have been introduced this month.
Even if the NCAA can convince the Supreme Court to overturn the 9th Circuit decision, its fraudulent “amateurism” model is crumbling. The outlandish arguments the NCAA has made in favor of its system have looked more and more ridiculous as NCAA executives and university athletic departments have continued to rake in millions. The “amateurism” model religiously pushed by the NCAA is on its way out, and the sooner, the better.
