© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
OAKLAND — March Madness is typically a time of celebration. After a tumultuous year in the NCAA, however, the Big Dance is fostering conversation about one of the burning questions in American sports: should college athletes be paid?
Warriors forward David West gave his perspective after Friday morning shootaround.
“I don’t think college athletes are looking for salaries,” West said. “I think they literally want to be able to go eat when they want to eat. If someone wants to buy their damn jersey, they should be able to sell it.”
On March 7, the NCAA released a statement indicating its total revenues had exceeded $1 billion for the first time ever. The report comes amid a troubling year in which some of the most prominent college basketball programs reportedly gave players impermissible benefits.
These allegations have seemingly influenced interest in the sport. This year’s tournament selection show reported its lowest rating in history.
Many NBA players — including Kevin Durant and Lakers guard Lonzo Ball — have spoken out on the issue of player benefits. The common complaint is that college players who help sell out arenas, boost jersey sales, and promote the sport as a whole don’t see any of the revenue that the NCAA cashes in.
Earlier this month, Durant touched on this seeming hypocrisy.
Kevin Durant on the numerous NCAA scandals and the one-and-done rule pic.twitter.com/iTpmttI7Dw
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 23, 2018
“You want these players to go out there and play on the biggest stage,” Durant said. “The Final Four is one of the biggest sporting events in the world, in sports, and they don’t get a dime for it. I don’t think it’s right. They go out there and slave for these programs to go out there and win a championship to bring a good vibe to these programs. These fans go to the game and see these players. It’s just like the NBA.”
These complaints aren’t anything new. In the early-90’s, the phenomenon of Michigan’s ‘Fab Five’ famously swept the country. As jersey and shoe sales boomed, Michigan players earned none of the revenue, much to their frustration.
In 2014, the same year Connecticut won the national championship, star guard Shabazz Napier lamented “there’s hungry nights where I’m not able to eat.”
“I think they are looking for some fairness,” West said. “The system is just not fair. I don’t care what types of excuses you come up with it. The system is just not fair when you’ve got literally billions on the table and the guys generating those billions are not seeing their fair share.”