College Football Star Tells NCAA Current System Prevents Full Academic Excellence

While attending the NCAA conference panel discussion about the student athlete experience I was fortunate to capture on video Michigan State all-conference QB discussing the hardships faced by major college football players in relation to obtaining a meaningful education while competing at the highest level. Take a listen for yourself from Wednesday January 11, 2012 event

Tulsa People Magazine Spotlights TV Anchor Walking Away From Fame and Fortune to Empower the Lives of the Most Needy

Mia you inspire me with you passion and compassion, and I thanks you for showing the rest of us that the truest measure of wealth is not in dollars and cents, but in lives touch and helped!

http://www.tulsapeople.com/Tulsa-People/February-2012/Cause-for-change/

Bravo’s Atlanta Housewives Show Mocks Enslavement of Blacks on MLK Birthday

Last night I   while preparing for my MLK speech at Oklahoma City University Tuesday night, I was in the room with my wife who was watching Bravo’s Housewives of Atlanta.  I am not a fan of the show, but became interested in the episode after overhearing the cast members talking about taking a trip to South Africa, which got my attention because I have family there, really enjoyed my time visiting there, and generally excited anytime mainstream TV promotes Africa.   Yet, my excitement was short-lived. See, just when I thought this show could not get any more demeaning since it already   exploits almost every negative stereotype Black women face in this country; the Bravo Network, the show, cast members, and producers sunk to an all-time low by making a mockery of the enslavement of our (and their) ancestors. Wow, I can’t believe that while looking at an enslavement exhibit scene at an African-American museum that showed a Black male mannequin in chains, two of the cast members, (one who is actually a practicing attorney)  were making jokes about the mannequin’s “genitals” and even (the lawyer!) physically looked under the loin cloth of the  exhibit to see “what he was packing” which further plays into the “hyper sexuality” of the African-American community.

This is an outrage and I am disgusted. Exploiting stereotypes is one thing, and while I do not expect positive and uplifting content from these shows, I certainly do NOT expect to have the deadly and brutal chattel slavery era—that saw upwards of 100 million Africans forcefully snatched husband from wife, mother from daughter, father from son…forced to endure the horrendous middle passage…forced to suffer the humiliation of being sold at auction blocks like chattel…forced to work from “can’t see morning, to can’t see dusk” for the total enrichment and empowerment of others…forced to work under the consistent threat if death, rape, beating, or kidnapping…forced to breed with each other like beasts of the field— mocked by “educated” African-Americans on national TV!

In closing, can you imagine a Jew or (anyone for that matter) going to a Jewish Holocaust exhibit or museum, laughing and making sexual jokes about the topless exhibits? No you can’t because it would NEVER happen, and if it did it would be national news and the person/s responsible would be immediately escorted (rightfully so) out of the facility. As I reflect on all that the Civil rights generation went through, the beatings, the lynching, the jailing, the marching, and the killings, I am saddened to have to think: is THIS what Dr. King and others fought and died for?!? So, we could have the freedom to trivialize our plight and struggle for TV ratings and a few dollars. I guess Dr. Carter G. Woodson, founder of Black History Month and author of Mis-Education of the Negro  put it best by stating in 1933 “when you control a man’s mind, you don’t have to worry about his actions… [he] will find [his] proper place and will stay in it…you do not need to send him to the back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary.” For whatever reason, the Atlanta Housewives felt that their proper place was to make it ok for the nation to find humor in the enslavement and oppression of Black people, their people; I can only pray that they find a way to become educated on why this is not the proper actions for such beautiful “southern belles.” Lastly, I’m sure the former enslaved African below would find no humor in their actions.

Land of the Free, Home of the Poor?

On thursday  it was reported that, 1 in 2 Americans live in poverty or is considered low income.  It’s sad and frankly unbelievable that the United States of America is quickly becoming a country of extreme haves and have-nots.

 Our country must get serious about creating and implementing policies that create a more just, equitable, and prosperous society for EVERYONE.

This is the only way that we will be able to continue to be the beacon of hope and opportunity that has  been an essential element in the development of our nation.  Further, if our citizens lose their belief in the ability to achieve  their American dream our society will quickly lose the relative stability it has enjoyed for so long.

No Place for Thug Behavior in College Sports

Last night  Xavier’s Kenny Frease (#32), was sucker punched by Cincinnati’s   Yancy Gates (#34) and then stomped in the head while he was on the ground by #13 Cheikh Mbodj.  Both Gates and Mbodj have been suspended for six (6) games, and both of their actions are regrettable.  However, I believe that Mbodj’s actions were much more egregious than Gates. In fact,  I consider Mbodj’s kicking Frease in the head as he lay defenseless on the ground thug like behavior and  has absolutely NO place in college athletics.  Due to the attacks, Frease (pictured below) sustained a badly bloodied black-eye. 

Now please know that i have been involved with on-field fights and brawls during my time playing at Univ. of Oklahoma (like the infamous  1998 TCU v. OU), and understand how emotions can get the best of you quickly during high level competition.  This is why  eventhough I think he deserves more, I can live with six (6) games for Gates since he was actually on the court when the fight started. However, for Mbodji to unnecessarily come off the bench to commit an intentional battery (unlawful touching of another) has to be strongly condemned and punished to send a message of strict  intolerance for such behavior.

Therefore, I believe Mbodji’s actions actually warrants a full season’s suspension, mandatory anger management training, and he should be found civilly liable (ordered to pay the medical bills and pain and suffering) for injuring Xavier’s Kenny Frease (#32).

Lastly, just because this attack occurred in the context of a college basketball game,  make no mistake about it, Mbodji’s actions were criminal.  However, I do not  advocate for criminal charges against Mbodj because I think he could learn from this mistake without the “scarlett letter” and prevention of life opportunities  that a criminal record brings.  But, once Mbodji is reinstated he should be on a very “short lease.”

50 Cent’s Guidlines for Inner-City Black Male Youth Empowerment

On
Monday I watched 50 Cent on Piers Morgan discuss a range of topics.  I was so impressed with his intellect and
honesty, especially in discussing his upbringing and how it had convinced him
that the only real occupations available was thug, criminal, entertainer, or
athlete or some combination of all of them.
He states he believed this because this is what he saw in front his everyday.
This was a powerful statement because this is the overwhelming view of most
inner-city Black males (if not all young Black males), including myself (I had
decided on the thug/athlete life path)

50 Cent was very clear that he had this
understanding of his capabilities based off what he saw and experienced on a
daily basis.  In other words the
practically of his life while growing creating the expectations within his mind
that to strive for anything besides the before mentioned Blackman occupation
pillars was not a waste of time, but worse it NEVER was even a thought!  This underscores the fact that we must not
discount the fact that our kids of pragmatic, rational, and basis their
decisions and actions on their expectations, expectations which our based off
their experiences or worse lack of experiences.

What does this
mean in our quest to improve our community, and reverse the numerous negative
and deadly trends that our literally consuming of young men and our community
on a daily basis.  It means that we must
always do what we can, when we can, and how we can to raise the expectations
for our kids.  How do we do this?  One way is to provide our youth with consistent,
relevant, and practical experiences that counter-act the negativity going on
around every day (at home, in their neighborhood, on the radio, and on TV) that
proves that education, life skills, and following a certain “road map to
success” (i.e. study, avoid criminal activity, not engage unprotected sex, etc)
can and will led to a peaceful, prosperous, and healthy life for them and their
family. For some this means spending more time with your own kids.  For others its volunteering at your local
school as a classroom mentor relaying your own success story, lobbying your
local school board to provide funding for life skills and college preparatory programs
at the local community college, or becoming a “big brother” to a kid without a positive
male figure in his life.

Regardless of what it is today, find some way and
somehow to inform, inspire, and empower a young Black male to find and maximize
his opportunities

NCAA’s $2000 Offer is 2 Little, 2 Late:The Push for Student-Athletes Full Civil Rights Can’t Be Stopped By Token Payments

During  the last twelve months, the NCAA has arguably received the closest scrutiny ever regarding student-athlete recruiting and extra-benefit scandals costing  prominent, successful football and basketball coaches at powerful universities their jobs (Jim Tressel Ohio State & Bruce Pearl Univ. of Tenn), seemingly endless (proposed or actual) conference  re-alignments and discussions that appear to disregard the ethics of amateurism in order to satisfy an insatiable appetite for lucrative television revenues, and allegations of major recruiting violations and embarrassingly low graduation rates that taint the accomplishments of the two 2010 BCS championship teams (Auburn graduated exactly 0 of their African-african american athletes!).

 Such negative publicity has increased the assault on the NCAA as the sole arbitrator of major college athletics, which is driven by a wide range of critics, including  scholars, the media, state legislators, Congress, the courts, U.S. Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan and even President Barack Obama.  As a result, the NCAA has once again discussed introducing surface “reforms” that hardly substantially address the situation such as increasing “full” scholarship amounts by $2000.00.

After extensive qualitative study of the literature, the law, NCAA rules and policies, court cases, interviews with former and current major college student-athletes, and my personal  experiences as a former D-1 football player at the University of  oklahoma.  I am convinced that the NCAA governance system is fundamentally flawed and divorced from the realities of today’s collegiate landscape.  Further,  the NCAA’s own rules and policies, and/or the lack of enforcement thereof, actually undermine their own antiquated  ideals of “amateurism” and “student-athlete” expressed in the NCAA’s mission and core values. In fact, I argue that the NCAA itself substantially interfere with the ability of student-athletes to holistically
develop and fully prosper in the current collegiate model of athletics.

The NCAA must significantly reform its policies and rules in order to improve its student-athletes’ academic performance, life skills development, economic opportunities, and graduation rates.  Therefore, I propose a number of specific new
policies and rules for careful consideration and adoption by the NCAA, including without limitation the following:

• Extend athletic scholarships for greater than the five-year  undergraduate period;
•  Increase the amounts of athletic scholarships to cover all living and student expenses since there is no time for outside employment;
• Require each school to have the same ratio of academic coaches to student-athletes as it has athletic coaches to student-athletes in each
  particular sport;
•  Require that the academic personnel working with student-athletes not
  be athletic department employees;
• Enlarge amounts of athletic scholarships to cover all living and student expenses, WITHOUT ANY ARBITRARY CAP;
• Provide  life-time injury and disability benefits for student-athletes injured while participating in their sport;
• Allow student-athletes to take personal advantage of their own
  marketability;
• Provide student-athletes with an equitable share of the revenue produced by their participation within their sport.

Without a doubt,  There are substantial legal,  equitable, financial, academic, and socio-cultural reasons for each proposed new policy and rule to implemented immediately.

Violent HIP-HOP Lyrics On Trial in Chicago: Is It Time for HIP-HOP Itself to be Put on Trial?

Later this week a former Southern Illinois student is going to trial for a 2007 charge of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.  In 2007, Olutoin O. Oduwole was arrested and charged after note was found in his car that stated he would go on a “murderous rampage” on the campus if he didn’t get a $50,000.00 within seven days.  Mr. Oduwole main defense is that he is an aspiring HIP-HOP artist, and the words were part of a song he was writing.  To back-up his claim Oduwole will have a distinguish University of California professor who studies the impact that HIP-Hop has on society will testify that such violent and negative lyrics are not only a part of today’s hip-hop culture, but is the standard.  Of course, you don’t have to be a “rocket-scientist” or even a college professor to know that extreme violence is a major part of the modern hip-hop culture and music.  However, what I find most interesting is whether the negativity of HIP-HOP and those who distribute to our youth ever be truly held accountable and put on “trial” to be eradicated from our children’s culture.

The Scarlet Sweater Vest

Just weeks before the 2010 Sugar Bowl, it was announced that 5 Ohio State football players college eligibility was in jeopardy because of selling their property (that they lawfully earned), in violation of NCAA rules.   Eventually the student-athletes were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl, but were suspended 5 out 12 scheduled 2011 games (40% of the season)  after they were publically extorted by their coach, Jim Tressel, who forced the players commit to returning to Ohio State for the 2011 season so, according to Tressel, the student-athletes wouldn’t “skirt the consequences” by playing in the Sugar Bowl, then declaring for the NFL draft and avoiding any punishment” for their transgressions.    

 Ironically, earlier this week we learned that Tressel knew about the possible rules violations 6 months before it became public, and knowingly and willfully concealed that information despite his contractual duty to report to school officials and the NCAA.  He alleges he keep quite because he did not “want to interfere in a federal criminal investigation” and thought that he was “prohibited from doing so because the information was confidential.”    BALDERDASH!!!   Now it’s not proven that Tressel’s true reason for not fulfilling his duty was because he didn’t want to interfere with his possibilities for almost half-million in bonuses his contract guarantees for milestones his team could not have reached without those 5 suspended players.   But it is proven this is not the first time Tressel has been involved in controversies of this nature.

 While he was head coach at Youngstown State University – Tressel was found to have conducted an incomplete investigation of star quarterback, Ray Isaac, for receiving improper financial benefits.  During his tenure at Ohio State, phenom running back Maurice Clarett who helped lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship was suspended by the NCAA in 2003 for receiving improper financial benefits that Clarett maintains came from Tressel himself!!! 

 It seems logical that Tressel, a multi-millionaire coach with a contractual duty to know and report NCAA and institutional rules and track record of previous mis-conduct would at least, receive the same punishment (five game suspension) as his teenage, unpaid student-athletes who may or may not have known it was against the rules to sell their own property.  Wrong!  So far, Tressel has only be suspended for the 2 out of 12 2011 scheduled games (16% of the season) against traditional doormats Akron and Toledo and fined $250,000 (roughly 7% of his 3.5 million dollar annual salary).  

 So, by far, the more compelling aspect of this story is the blatant double-standard in treatment by universities and the NCAA regarding rules violations by multi-millionaire coaches and so-called student-athletes.    For example, last fall University of Tennessee’s head basketball coach, Bruce Pearl, was suspended for 8/31 scheduled games (25% of the season) by the Southeastern Conference for knowingly lying to NCAA officials about hosting recruits and their parents at his own personal residence which he knew was a  violation of NCAA Bylaws.  So far the NCAA has not punished Pearl at all.

             Now compare those actions with how the NCAA treats student-athletes. For example, University of Kentucky baseball player, James Paxton, was removed from the team and had his scholarship stripped for refusing to meet with NCAA officials regarding his relationship with attorney and sports agent Scott Boras. Paxton had a lucrative offer to play professionally for the Toronto Blue Jays but instead returned to Kentucky to play for the Wildcats (without any monetary compensation by the way).

 The NCAA or University of Kentucky never asserted any accusations that Paxton had violated any rules or regulations, they only wanted to discuss his dealings with Boras. Paxton refused to accept the NCAA’s “invitation” to discuss Mr. Boras on grounds that such information was confidential under the attorney-client privilege. The NCAA countered that the NCAA Bylaws superseded Paxton’s constitutional rights to such privilege and that the assertion of such right was seen as non-cooperation!!  So, without ever speaking with Paxton and without providing any evidence to support their position, the NCAA ruled Paxton permanently ineligible for violating the NCAA’s “No Agent Rule”.    The NCAA sent a clear message that student-athletes are entitled to no due process rights under their Draconian methods of governance.

 We also have the case of former Oklahoma State University football standout Dez Bryant. Bryant was “invited” to speak with the NCAA regarding his involvement with Deion Sanders and sports agent Eugene Parker and whether or not the two ever acted as his agent during his time at Oklahoma State. During the NCAA’s interrogation of Bryant, he lied to NCAA officials concerning whether or not he had dinner with Sanders.  When the NCAA issued its decision it found that Sanders and Parker had not acted as Bryant’s agent, but yet they suspended him for his entire senior season because he lied about having dinner!   Of course, lying is never acceptable.  But to suspended a suspend a nervous college student because he   lied out of fear, ignorance and/or confusion of a rule while being interrogated by professional investigators, for an entire season is ridiculous.  Then only suspended wealthy, professional, and represented head coaches for knowingly and willfully lying to NCAA investigators about engaging in activities they knew were not  permitted by the for only a hand full of games is just shameful. Do you see the problem?!?

 In closing, while this ordeal is embarrassing for Tressel, before any meaningful games are played by Ohio State we’ll see him roaming the sidelines of The Horseshoe in his trademark sweater vest, and his lucrative coaching career will continue as usual.    Meanwhile, student-athletes like James Paxton, Dez Bryant, and Ohio State’s Terrel Pryor will forever have their collegiate experience and lives altered for the same or even less offenses.  Why we hold young student-athletes to higher standards than the sophisticated head coaches (entrusted with the development of their student-athletes) of major college athletics programs is beyond me. The truly disturbing aspect of this entire story is that there is no end is in sight to such egregious and disappointing conduct on the part of the NCAA and its member institutions.

NFL Labor dispute Update 3-5-11

This is for all my friends asking me about the NFL labor issues here is how I see the latest development

Monday evening, U.S. District Court Judge David Doty overturned a decision that would have allowed the NFL to use more than $4 billion dollars in media fees during a potential lockout next year. Briefly I discuss three areas of interest in this blog

1. Why the court ruled the way it did
2. What the ruling means
3. How the court’s decision affects the ongoing NFL Labor negotiations

 

Why the Court Ruled the Way it did

The NFL Player’s Union (Players) filed suit against the NFL and its franchise owners collectively because it believed that the league had violated its duty to the Players by manipulating and renegotiating media contracts with DirecTV, CBS, FOX, CBS, NBC, and ESPN to give the league an unfair advantage over the Players in the event of a lockout. The media rights contracts would have given the NFL $4.2 billion for the 2011 season even if no football was played due to a lockout. Even without football games being played owners would still make money in 2011 while Players would recieve no income from their respective teams.

The structure of the league is made up so that the NFL acts not only to benefit itself to fullest extent possible, but to also do the same for its players. When the NFL was renegotiating the media contracts with the broadcasters they did so with only themselves in mind. The league leveraged its power and position with the pending lockout to charge broadcasters more in 2011 and beyond the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. They did so in exchange for not charging broadcasters more in the 2009 and 2010 seasons which are covered by the current CBA. The district court in handing down its decision said that the NFL had a duty to act in “good faith” (honestly) and with their “best efforts” (diligently) and using their sound business judgment to benefit both themselves and the players. In the negotiations the only used their sound business judgment in good faith and best efforts to benefit themselves and not the Players. Al Davis once said “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying”, the court here said that the NFL was trying a little too hard.  

What the ruling means

If the original ruling on the case had stood the NFL would have been able to use money from its media contracts during a potential lockout to “wait out” the Players. This would have given the NFL tremendous leverage against the Players. Judge Doty’s ruling blocked the NFL from waging their war of attrition on the Players. The judge may elect either to put the revenue from the media contracts  in an escrow account until the labor dispute is resolved or he can disburse the funds to the league and the union with the Players receiving a 59.5% share of that amount as provided for in the terms of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. Either way the effect is that the NFL no longer has its “warchest” to fall back on. Owners will now have to bear the brunt of the lockout with their own reserves, rather than new revenue from the media contracts funds that they thought would be there to carry them through.

  How the ruling affects the current NFL Labor negotiations

Shortly before the expiration of the current CBA on March 4^th – the NFL and the Players announced they would extend the CBA deadline by 24 hours. Then today, they announced that they would re-extend the CBA deadline for a week. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has stated that the ruling on the NFL Media Contracts case had no bearing on the league’s decision to extend the deadline. BALDERDASH!!! In fact, the NFL’s top attorney, Jeffrey Pash said that “I wouldn’t be surprised if the owners are here next week.” Considering that the owners have rarely opted to directly participate in labor discussions with the union, this signals a seismic shift in the NFL’s strategy surrounding the CBA and the Lockout. What changed? Metaphorically, the owners thought they had a big tax return check coming back to them this year. They were planning on using that money (like so many of us do when we get our refund checks) to go on “vacation” (collecting checks without working). Now that the owners have been told that they’re practically getting nothing back this year because they “fudged” on their taxes, all those plans have changed.