The NCAA is in retreat under the large thumb of the power people in the NBA, and they continue to take public relations hits. This time, Draymond Green sounds off on the collegiate association. From Anthony Slater of The Athletic:
Draymond with a passionate defense of college athletes and being able to profit off their own likeness.
"The NCAA is a dictatorship."
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) September 30, 2019
“The NCAA is a dictatorship.”
Draymond didn’t hold back ? pic.twitter.com/bbMdeDCLin
— Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) September 30, 2019
College basketball is facing a great number of threats from all sides. They are losing out on top names like RJ Hampton and LeMelo Ball, who have opted to play overseas in Australia as opposed to going to college. The unending corruption and scandal, which most recently exposed the University of Kansas, is consistently brought up. And now, most notably, the NCAA’s insistence on raising the requirements NBA agents must meet to represent college players. Naturally, those requirements were swiftly rejected by the agents.
What Draymond Green is referring to when he calls the NCAA a “dictatorship” is the inability for a player to make money off of their own likeness or ability. Meanwhile, the NCAA sells Final Four tickets and signs television deals. That is changing in California, as Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill allowing athletes to profit off of endorsement deals. This is a first step in moving toward what many people believe in: allowing student athletes to make money from themselves.
Green, of course, is a former second round draft pick and did not have the publicity that other players received. And that second round pick, who has made every general manager think twice about the importance of late draft picks, just signed a $100 million extension this past summer.
