Canada and Europe May Offer Answers
I am opposed to big time college sports, specifically basketball and football which make millions for not only for the schools but for the companies who advertise during the televising of the games. I am opposed because the athletes playing these sports, especially those most viewer tune in to admire, are black and get paid nothing. They get room and board and a chance to attend college; neither of which guarantees the type of return the schools and merchandisers get from the viewers.
I have blogged about this and written about then argued ad nauseum to friends and relatives for the past 30 years against this form of modern slavery. The problem is the supply of athletes willing to sacrifice for nothing is inexhaustible. Both professional basketball and football force black athletes to attend college before even being considered getting paid to play. Consider in basketball this follows a color if not cultural national line: athletes from Europe can play in the NBA with no age restriction or college attendance. Most native Europeans are still white despite the efforts of the French. Well, therein lies a possible solution to pressure to National Football League and National Basketball Association modify their rules back to capitalism based on performance not forced indentured servitude.
What if the parents of teenagers with the talents similar to (or better than) Lebron James, Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett decided to take their children to Europe for their high school years and play in the European leagues for pay, which pay far more than D League salaries, during the school year and come back in the summer to work out for pay in a summer league. Of course, if the NBA made a rule against this, the obvious plantation mentally of the owners and league would reveal itself. By draft time and meeting age rules based on where the player played not their country of origin they would have earned dollars for themselves not their overseers. The loss of talent would force the hand of merchandisers here and entrepreneurs who recognize a good deal and bring them back to the USA shores within 10 years; and establish a bidding war with the European leagues. Russia is now more attractive for NHL and WNBA players for the same reason.
Unfortunately, American football or modified rugby is not played very well in Europe and is nowhere close to being popular at the high school level. Enter Canada, the land that gave rise to the professional black quarterback. The NFL does have a clause backed by a Supreme Court decision requiring a player to play for free in college before being paid to play in the NFL. There was time also that the Supreme Court with its Dred Scott decision gave the same support to legal slavery in the South. What if the CFL, recruited players directly to their league before going to an American college or university? What if they paid the players while providing an education at collegiate level? Again once the talent pool is depleted of stellar freshmen and sophomores, the economics would force a change in rules.
Another Canadian innovation could be a basketball C-League for those parents who do not want to adjust to European cuisine and customs. ( Most blacks because of the racially imbalance in military service are well aware of these customs and cuisine especially of the German super republic). Again it is just leveling the capitalistic playing field to eliminate the disparity free labor creates as it did in the 19th century and spurred a civil war. I doubt a civil war would ensue because of this, but some would argue if this young talent went elsewhere for development they would lose their 'American' edge in these sports. However, the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs proved a team does not need American talent to field a winning team. Consider also an American team has not won it all internationally in a few years.
A sidebar to this, is many complain the NBA and NFL players are talented but not fully skilled because many leave college as soon as they are eligible to be paid. Professional sub-leagues, like that of baseball, would help with the chasm between talent and skill. But there is the D-League and semi-pro football that pay players in development so they can achieve NBA or NFL level skills some would say. Unfortunately, these leagues lack marketability within the USA, unlike Europe or Canada where the talent would be handsomely paid.
During this pause post NBA season and draft and pre football season and draft, something to consider if your child is super talented. Football could run four agonizing years to avoid injury that would limit dollars if not end a career without any pay. Basketball is less forgiving with most stars having only to do a year of service and be of age. In either case, unless your child is among the top 20 to be drafted, he or she is just another Mandingo scrapping and scrapping for the left over dollars he or she could have earned overseas.
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