How America is becoming like the NCAA
By Daniel Brigman Copyright 2013
I was 9 years old when Michael Jordan hit a jumper from the left side to beat Georgetown for the NCAA championship. It was more than a game. It was a way for my father and me to connect. The next year we watched NC State upset Houston in ultra-dramatic fashion. I was hooked. I still love March Madness. Even my wife loves to fill out the brackets. It is fun. As I got older I started to see it a little differently.
Sports are business…plain and simple. Yes, they are entertainment, but the bottom line is they are business. What the nine year old didn’t understand the 40 year old does. Seemingly every adult realizes this…unless you work for the NCAA. They have created the illusion of amateur athletics but continue to shuffle Billions upon Billions into the corporate and University coffers. David Copperfield has nothing on the magic trick they are pulling off.
I have come into contact with and known several high-caliber college athletes. A couple have even “gone pro.” What they might have not known at the time is that they were already pro …they just weren’t getting paid for it. Two years ago the NCAA signed an agreement with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting for exclusive rights to show the March Madness Tournament games. They agreed on a price of 10.8 BILLION dollars. Over 740 Million annually. That is just for the 3 week span in March.
If this was true collective bargaining the 347 Division I schools would each get about 2 million a year from this windfall to support their programs. This is the only intellectually and morally consistent position the NCAA could take and not come off hyper-hypocritical. But, as most know, that is not how the money is split up. Through a series of “administrative decisions” the money trickles down in some convoluted money scheme that always seems to favor the top.
That’s ok I suppose. It is their decision to make, it’s a business. But don’t use these young men in your scheme. A few months ago I had a fairly high profile athlete at my house for dinner. He is on National TV helping his University make money several times a year. He will probably “go pro.” My family had a great time. When the night ended I thought about handing him a little money to help him with all he deals with in his life. If I did most would say that is “illegal.” This brings me to my comparison to America.
I have a question for you…Is it against the Law for me to give that young man some money? If you said yes then it’s probably best if you go find another article to read. If you said no, then who the hell is the NCAA to stop me from doing so? Let me ask you another question. If you drive 60 in a 55 zone have you broken the Law? This question might be a little trickier. The answer is still “No.” Let me explain.
What is the declared Supreme Law of the Land? It is the Constitution as ratified in 1791 with the associated Amendments (Bill of Rights).
Article 6 section II of the Constitution
“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”
Anything that is contrary to this Law is VOID, including traffic tickets. (Marbury vs. Madison)
When you are arrested at a traffic stop or warrantless check-point the Fourth Amendment is ignored. That makes everything that happens after a violation of Law. The public servants who do this are the real criminals.
Just as the NCAA has created an alternate universe of “rules” they call “laws” the city governments have created “statutes” they call “laws.” A subtle but effective trick in both instances. One to get you the American to give up your unalienable Rights guaranteed pursuant to the Constitution to make you a servant of the “State.” The other made to get the athlete to give up his Rights so that he can be taken advantage of and serve the NCAA. Bottom line…both is about control and money.
So what if the athlete I was telling you about wanted to go get a job…use his ability and talent…and go do appearances at local car dealerships? The NCAA says it is against the “LAW.” If he does they will declare him ineligible, possibly strip his scholarship and greatly diminish his chances to ever make the NFL. They manipulate him into subjection. So basically the NCAA has created this parallel universe that takes the talents of the kids and cultivates it to make money but won’t even allow them to use their own talent to make money outside the playing field. Wow, impressive. If there is a better definition of a “racket” I would like to see it.
I have heard the argument…”well, if we let the athlete go work at the car dealership then pretty soon boosters will be giving them cash and all hell will break loose.” My question in return is…So? Because of the possibility that something bad might happen then you take away the athlete’s Rights and penalize him for doing what exactly? Does that line of thinking sound familiar? It should.
Every day the government acts outside of true Constitutional Law and makes “rules” under the “Color of Law” to allegedly protect you so you don’t hurt yourself. Gee thanks, I didn’t know I needed protection. City governments live off of revenue generation and stealing from its People through the traffic court manipulation. The NCAA lives off the ignorance of the young men wearing their jersey so they can sign 10 Billion dollar contracts.
Great lengths are taken to keep the illusion going. The government is constantly reminding you about your driving habits. The NCAA goes as far as insisting that athletes interviewed are called “student-athletes.” They might as well put a logo on them that says; “Property of the NCAA.” The courts the tournament games are played on are stripped of all advertising. In one instance they perpetuate the illusion of amateur athletics and also limit the marketing opportunities so they can charge a premium. Genius. Both the NCAA and the State are masters at marketing. Because traffic tickets and NCAA athletics are both businesses my friend.
We must understand that the Law of America is based on Natural Law that is based on morality designed to protect the “unalienable Rights endowed by our Creator.” If you disagree with me I will prove it by asking a couple questions. If I drive 70 in a 65 zone have I done anything wrong? If a college athlete goes to a grand opening for a new restaurant and signs autographs for a fee has he done anything wrong? Then how is either one of these things against the Law?
I know exactly how this can change in a New York minute. What if the night before the NCAA championship game the athletes from both teams refused to play unless things changed? What if all the other athletes followed suit in a show of solidarity? How fast do you think those “laws” would change? Yeah, real fast.
What if Americans refused to respond to any traffic tickets until the police honored the Constitution? Yeah, real fast. The power is in the People. Just like the NCAA, the State doesn’t want you to realize that. “You can’t fight city hall.” A total lie. You are city hall my friend.
*About the author: Daniel Brigman is a political writer and author of the upcoming book, Forever 1776, on our Revolutionary past and connecting with and defending our Constitutional Republic today. It is scheduled to be available on Patriots Day (April 19th, 2013) at www.Forever1776.com.
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- “The Daily Show” buries the NCAA (thegazette.com)
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