Washington Post College Sports and Amateurism: A Historical Overview and Media Perspective

College Sports and Amateurism: A Turning Tide

The Initial Scandal: Ohio State and Terrelle Pryor (2010)

• In 2010, a scandal erupted at Ohio State involving star quarterback Terrelle Pryor and other players.
• Players violated NCAA rules by selling championship rings and jerseys for tattoos.
• Coach Jim Tressel lost his job, and the NCAA investigated the program.
• Early reactions, exemplified by Pat Forde, criticized the players for disrespecting tradition for profit despite receiving scholarships and perks.

The Undoing of Amateurism Rules

• The NCAA's long-standing amateurism rules have recently faced significant challenges.
• The Supreme Court ruled that amateurism alone was not a sufficient legal defense for the NCAA.
• The NCAA Board of Governors voted to allow players to earn money from autographs and social media influencing, a major shift in policy.
• Pat Forde acknowledges his changed views, admitting his earlier stance was dated.

The Shift in Sports Media

• Sports media has increasingly viewed college sports through the lenses of race, labor and athletes' rights.
• Factors driving this shift include: the rise of online sports journalists, increased interest from non-sports journalists, a high-profile lawsuit (O’Bannon), and the growing wealth in college sports.
• The disparity between millionaire coaches/executives and unpaid players became too glaring to ignore.

The Traditional View: "The Scandal Beat"

• For much of the 20th century, NCAA's amateurism rules were considered sacred.
• Journalists focused on uncovering scandals related to rule violations.
• Examples include Pulitzer Prize-winning investigations by the Arizona Daily Star and Lexington Herald-Leader in the 1980s.
• A 1989 Sports Illustrated cover story, "Kentucky’s Shame," highlighted the media's critical stance on rule-breaking.
• Even Walter Byers, the architect of NCAA's rule book, was initially seen as a righteous figure trying to curb depravity.

The Rise of Dissenting Voices

• Even in the 2000s, with massive TV deals like the Bowl Championship Series' contract with Fox ( > $330 million/year) and the NCAA's deal with CBS/Turner for March Madness (10.8 billion over 14 years), stories about athletes accepting cash continued to surface.
• Examples include Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo at USC, and scandals at Miami.
• Mainstream sportswriters like Rick Telander (author of "The Hundred Yard Lie") and Jason Whitlock criticized amateurism.
• Harry Edwards, writing since the 1960s, highlighted racial and power disparities in college sports.
• A key factor limiting criticism was reporters' need for access to bowl games, locker rooms, and coaches.

Deadspin and the Critique of "Scandal Beat"

• By 2009, Deadspin began questioning the value of scandal stories, labeling them "Death to the NCAA."
• Tommy Craggs criticized the focus on individual cases rather than the larger system of exploitation.
• The coverage was seen as focusing on criminalization rather than the systemic theft from athletes.

The Ed O'Bannon Lawsuit (2009)

• Ed O’Bannon’s lawsuit against the NCAA challenged restrictions on endorsements, shifting the focus from salaries to athletes' rights to profit from their likeness.
• The lawsuit engaged non-sports journalists and figures like Sonny Vaccaro, a former Nike executive who became a vocal critic of the NCAA.
• Vaccaro's crusade was profiled by Jason Zengerle in the New Republic and Lowell Bergman on PBS's "Frontline."
• Bergman questioned NCAA President Mark Emmert about the TV contracts and unpaid players.

Taylor Branch's Influential Article (2011)

• Taylor Branch's cover story for the Atlantic framed amateurism as a civil rights issue.
• The cover image depicted a young Black man with a "Property of the NCAA" tattoo.
• Branch argued that the tragedy was not that some athletes were getting paid, but that more were not.
• He viewed the system as exploitative, with young Black football and basketball players generating billions for predominantly White coaches and executives.
• Branch described college sports as having "the unmistakable whiff of the plantation."

The Amplification of the Message

• Bomani Jones noted that those further removed from college sports found the premise more absurd.
• The Atlantic article brought the issue to a broader audience, including college presidents.
• Jay Bilas used his Twitter platform to criticize NCAA policies, including exposing how the NCAA's online store profited from players' likenesses.

Johnny Manziel as an Inflection Point

• Johnny Manziel's brief suspension for accepting money for autographs became a focal point.
• Reports highlighted that Manziel generated approximately 37 million for Texas A&M in a single year.
• Time magazine featured Manziel on its cover with the headline: "It’s Time to Pay College Athletes."
• Manziel, a White quarterback from a wealthy family, shifted the narrative away from poverty and highlighted the absurdity of the amateurism rules.

The FBI Investigation and Shifting Perceptions (2018)

• Pat Forde broke stories about the FBI's investigation into under-the-table payments to college basketball stars.
• However, the investigation did not result in widespread outrage, suggesting "scandal fatigue" or a changing perception of athletes getting paid.
• A Wall Street Journal column argued that the real issue was amateurism, not the secret cash payments.
• A generational change in attitudes towards college athletes receiving money was evident.

Supreme Court and Justice Kavanaugh's Opinion

• Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh criticized the NCAA's practice of not paying athletes a fair market rate, stating the NCAA is "not above the law."
• His concurrent opinion was described as a "blog post" highlighting the inequities of the system.