Published: April 02, 2008 04:46 pm      

LEFEVRE: The National Conspiracy Against Athletes is upon us once again

This is a very cynical time of year for me, where two sporting events fall center stage one after the other, both igniting great excitement during their build-up to crown a new champion.

One is still a few weeks away, when masses of people from all over the globe will come together in the Louisville area for a three-week celebration that centers around whipping horses and forcing them to run at an unnatural speed that often makes their legs snap like a wishbone.

That event, however, causes me minimal angst, because I am far from an animal-rights advocate.

The other event, however, is more disturbing to me because, instead of animals being exploited, it is young men and women being exploited and mistreated for no logical reason.

Since I’ve already used the words exploitation and mistreatment, then I am obviously talking about the NCAA (more appropriately termed the National Conspiracy Against Athletes).

The supreme hype that surrounds the NCAA tournament only heightens the awareness that the NCAA is an oppressor of young athletes, keeping them from making any money from their enormous popularity that has resulted from years of diligent training where they have succeeded beyond all reasonable odds.

There is no other American entity that even approaches the unconstitutional exploitation that occurs with these college athletes.

Can you imagine how much money the top athletes in the Final Four could make from selling their likeness on photos, clothing or offering clinics or giving speeches? Or making public appearances? Or by running camps, or by wearing a certain shoe?

Any other group of Americans who did this would be praised for their initiative and creativity in finding a way to economically benefit from their enormous popularity. But NCAA athletics restrict this right.

This restriction is as discriminatory as not allowing certain races or religions to vote or own property. Nothing can be more un-American than restricting a person’s ability to benefit from the actions of their hard work and ability.

To those who say that an athlete is getting the value of an education and shouldn’t be greedy, I ask why can’t an athlete refuse the scholarship, pay their way to school and then earn their own money on the outside like all other students are allowed to do?

Of course, the supporters of the NCAA will point to the need to limit commercialism. At the same time, however, the NCAA universities are selling their product to the highest bidder, whether it is to Reebok or Nike to sponsor shoes, or UPS or Delta Air Lines to put their name on their arenas, or whether it is to CBS or ESPN to broadcast their big games. This year, the NCAA’s basketball contract with CBS has grown close to a BILLION dollars a year.

Now, I have nothing against colleges trying to make money.

They have something to sell that people want to buy, and they are willing to sell it for the highest price possible. That is the American way, so I say, “Good for them!”

And I also think it would be totally inappropriate for universities to be paying their players. The players are supposed to be at college to pursue an education, and athletics are supposed to be part of the package that the schools offer.

Even at Division III schools, who do not make a dime off of their athletic programs (in fact, they lose lots of money on them), athletics are offered because the colleges deem them a valuable part of the educational package.

The idea of employing the players and writing them a check for participation is not an appropriate relationship between the university and student. It makes the teams into college-sponsored professional clubs, and universities should not be in the business of running professional teams.

Furthermore, it would be very unfair to pay the walk-on practice player at the end of the bench the same compensation that the All-American superstar would receive.

They have different values on the open market to the American public. Due to the fact, that they have developed a different degree of skill through their many years of training. A carpenter who can build a nice doghouse can expect to be paid fairly for his skills, but he can’t be expected to earn the same as the builder who can build a high-rise building or a shopping mall.

The idea that former Duke star J.J. Redick couldn’t run a shooting clinic in July and be compensated for it by the masses who would have wanted to attend while he was at the height of his fame. Or that D.J. White couldn’t do a commercial for a local car dealership is patently unfair.

But many will say, “oh so what, those two will get their payday in the NBA later.” However, 98 percent of college athletes won’t.

Let’s consider former Indiana University point guards Joe Hillman and Tom Coverdale, who both were integral in getting Indiana to the national championship games in 1987 and 2002.

Both were standout players as a result of thousands of hours of practice, inner drive and developed intelligence throughout their pre-college lifetime. They became state heroes through their athletic success, but will likely never make any significant money playing pro ball.

At the height of their well-earned fame, both were completely prohibited from turning that earned fame into any monetary benefit. Only after their level of fame and notoriety had begun to ebb could they begin to try to cash in on their abilities.

What a travesty!

Someday, the NCAA — the National Conspiracy Against Athletes — will get theirs.

Eventually, a group of intelligent athletes who are playing in the Final Four will look back at the history they studied, realize that they needed to exhibit real-life teamwork and take a stand to fight for justice and their human rights.

They will stand up together and say something like, “Sorry, but we are not playing these games on Saturday unless we get a million dollars each.” That’s a reasonable suggestion, since there are only about 50 athletes and that 50 million will be barely more than five percent of the total revenue for the event.

Like other pioneers for change before them, these athletes will have to stand tough in the face of inevitable brutal criticism. They will be called “selfish” and “greedy” and “ingrates.” They will be told that they ought to be ashamed for not being thankful for what they were given.

Given?

They have worked to achieve a level of skill and fame that was against all reasonable odds.

Greedy?

When was the last time a group of people in American history got what they deserved out of the goodness of their bosses’ hearts?

The coal miners, the steel workers, professional athletes — no groups ever get their rights without having to stand up and make demands that are backed up by a willingness to strike and possibly risk losing something that they enjoy.

And if the NCAA calls their bluff and cancels the game (and has to give back the $800 million to CBS) — BIG DEAL!

I’ll be glad to offer to help get the teams a regulation gym where they can play to find out who was best team in the nation. I’ll even referee it for free and buy the winner a nice, big plastic trophy.

And, most importantly, I promise to distribute all the money brought in through popcorn sales directly to the players.

Lou Lefevre is the head boys’ basketball coach at Providence High School.