Not Just A Game

While online, tracking the late NFL games of what turned out to be a financially prosperous Sunday for me*, I came across this video on ESPN.com, a segment from their Outside the Lines program. The video focuses on a class action lawsuit being brought against the NCAA for the way that EA Sports' NCAA video games so clearly portray the specific athletes, yet the athletes themselves gain nothing from their likenesses being used.

*Fantasy football, not betting on the actual games.

Now, it is a slippery slope to try and decipher the issue of whether college athletes should actually be paid to play. On the one hand, athletes are given a free education, yet the demands and time constraints of playing a Division I college sport (or even a DIII college sport) are usually such that only the most driven and organized athletes can actually get the same education that his* peers receive. Take a glance at the abysmal graduation rates of big-time college football programs and you'll see that it's a fallacy that all these players, from the star QB to the back-up offensive tackle, are "paid" with an education. The best players** use their schools to get to the professional ranks and all the players are certainly privileged to certain perks (take, for example, this crazy video of the LSU football facilities), but for the most part, the schools just use their athletes to rake in boatloads of cash (from TV contracts, boosters, and bowl games) and to raise the school's profile.

* Yes, obviously there are female college athletes, but I am, for the moment, only focused on the two big money-makers: men's college basketball and football.
**Which also reminds me of the big "one and dones" in college hoops. What exactly is the relationship between John Wall, Tyreke Evans, and Derrick Rose and their respective schools? There's no education there. The only reason the go to college is because an NBA rule mandates it--what are they really getting out of that?

The NCAA is unyielding when it comes to athletes gaining anything tangible from their stature. Take, for example, star Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant who was suspended for getting some help/attention from Deion Sanders, or even Ohio State benchwarmer and internet celebrity Mark Titus who had to jump through endless loopholes to get readers of his blog simple t-shirts, of which, obviously, Mark can't make a dime from.

Clearly, I take issue with a lot of this, but there is a lot gray area here and maybe I'll sort these out further some other time, today I'd just like to "focus" (yes, I realize I've already been blabbing for a while) about the EA Sports snafu. Many viewers in the comments section (and in the video) rail lawsuit poster boy and former NCAA QB, Sam Keller*, for being a money-grabber; I don't think he really is, though he doesn't exactly remind me of Mark Madsen, but I feel his own intentions are beside the point. What we have, is the NCAA and EA Sports blatantly using likenesses of players to enhance the gaming experience and therefore sell more copies of their game with the players seeing absolutely no financial benefit. The give and take of schools and their players is a problem already, but I must say that I am complete agreement with Sam Keller and his attorney over the fact that this is basically stealing from the athletes.

* Keller is actually the perfect fit for this lawsuit in that he isn't a Michael Crabtree/Knoshown Moreno type player who has obvious money coming to them in the NFL, nor is he the anonymous small school lineman who is probably just stoked to be in the game, but Keller is significant enough that he is one of the athletes whose likeness gamers demand. That said, it would be nice if Keller were a little more articulate and worked at, say, a hospital, instead of a bar.

The video games are shameless money grabs, which would be fine if the stars of the games were the ones grabbing some money. This is like making movies and having George Clooney work for free. For the NCAA to justify this partnership with the technicality that the games don't include the players' names--even though the game is built to download rosters online to name the players previously identified by position and number only--is embarrassing. Such a loophole allowing the NCAA to benefit, only further confirms it as one of the most hypocritical organizations around.

Hopefully, Keller (and therefore all NCAA basketball/football players) will be successful and see their fair share. Not that long ago, retired NFL players won a similar case, so it seems quite likely that EA and the NCAA will have to dole out some sort of reparations, if not because of this particular case, then surely soon.