The Warriors Effect

Since LeBron has been in the league, he has had no real rivals. There have been teams who have posed a threat, but all them fade away. The League could not find away to threated LeBron March to greatness. But there was answer in 2015.

In 2014, the Warriors went (51-31) with there coach, Mark Jackson. They placed 6th in the playoffs. After the first round loss, Mark Jackson was fired. Then 2015 started. The Warriors hired long time commentator Steve Kerr to be the new head coach. They were off to the races with a great record (67-15) leading the entire league. Curry took the first unanimous MVP. Running through the finals while facing the man known has LeBron James. The series went 6 games and were very close with most games down by single digits. LeBron lost again in the finals. 

At first I thought it was a fluke. Many young teams win and fade out by the next year. But the warriors did not fall into that. Somehow they went up (73-9)  in the regular and went up against the LeBron's Cavs. They became the single greatest team in NBA in history. Even Curry taking his second straight MVP in a row. But They lost with 3-1 lead in finals to the Cavs. Then I overreacted and said "Warriors, come out and play".  LeBron James conquered his demon from past. he could move or could he?

To my surprise The Warriors came from left field and did the impossible getting a superstar. Kevin Durant, the number one points leader of the thunder. Once again the Warriors are improving from the year before. While LeBorn and the Cavs were just stayed the same celebrating there last title. with a combination of cavs injuries and renewed hunger the Warriors beats the the cavs in five. Durant was to much of weapon with the already powerful warriors.LeBron took a real hit to his legacy. the next year is played the same. Just another try at the most powerful team in NBA history.   

Overall the Warriors have done what Bill Russel Celtics have done to the career of Wilt Chamberlain.taking his prime and beating him when it counts. My thought coming in to this was to say that Warriors damaged the career of LeBron. But I found that the Warriors are were their are because they have made changes every season. While the teams LeBron are on don't make much changes. The Warriors have taken the greatest team title, while The legacy of LeBron is taking more hits from the "Goat" argument. 

What John Wall's Injury Means For The Wizards

      John Wall has decided to undergo a season-ending surgery on his heel. This surgery will cause the Wizard’s starting point guard to be sidelined with no basketball activity for the next 6 to 8 months. This injury has caused Wall to not seem like the All-Star he truly is with some games he’ll barley score, like against the Cavs on December 8th where he only scored 1 point. Wall has been averaging 20.7 points, 8.7 assists and 1.5 steals a game. This injury is a huge blow to the Wizards who have looked like a shell of themselves but were hoping to make it into the playoffs. 

This year the Wizards should ultimately come up with a game plan for the future. The Dwight Howard deal isn’t panning out to what they have been hoping with him only playing 9 games this season. The locker room is a complete mess with Scott Brooks looking like he has no control of what's going on. They recently have came out saying that they would trade anyone on the team and I suggest they trade MOST of the team. 

Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers have already been traded to bring in Trevor Ariza but that’s not enough. The Wizards have a culture problem that needs to be addressed immediately. The first act should be to Fire Scott Brooks and bring in a well respected coach around the league that commands respect. With Wall swearing at the coach during a practice should tell the outsider that Brooks isn’t respected in the organization. 

The second act should be to start trading the players that have a poor attitude to help improve the culture. They need to bring in more positive attitudes like an Enes Kanter. Kanter is someone who will defend his teammates and will always try to lift up his teammates. I’m not saying to get exactly Kanter because his defense is poor but to bring in someone like Kanter because of the culture change. 

Washington needs to look into using Bradley Beal more and use this year as a learning tool for him to become more comfortable with playmaking and becoming a leader on and off the court. Ultimately the Wizards can not move on from Beal because of all the money they put into Wall. The Wizards need to buy into this Beal/Wall duo they are stuck with now. If Beal can become a more confident playmaker and leader then this would become more positive for the team overall. 

Beal currently is averaging 4.7 assists, which is a career high. In today's Nba many shooting guards are becoming better playmakers and point guards which is making them harder to guard. If Beal can become like James Harden and John Wall comes back fully healthy the Wizards could become the team we always thought they could be and that is an Eastern Conference Contender. 

John Wall’s injury shouldn’t be looked at as a waste of a season, but more for a season of learning for Beal and a roster turnover. This injury should be looked at as a blessing in disguise and used for the team’s future.

 

O'Bannon Vs NCAA The Story Of The Man Who Sued The NCAA

When you sign up for a college basketball scholarship you sign away your right to make money out of your image. Under your scholarship agreements you must agree to signing away your right to make money off your image and name. So if an athlete's family is struggling financially the athlete may leave for the pros early so he can support his family, instead of staying in college and not getting money. College athlete should be able to make money off of the use of their image, and how much they generate for the college.

Imagine this you are a former collegiate basketball athlete who dominated in the college level, at a school like Duke. You go out on the court and give everything you got, everyday for practice and games. You see great success, get a college championship, and win the NCAA most outstanding player award. After college your skills were not good enough to get you into the NBA. You sit there struggling and even remember the last time you ate anything. When you turn on the TV you see your image being used, and when you look at your old school you see them keep on using your image. You get home and see a notice on your apartment door that you have just gotten evicted. When you ask for money from the NCAA they say that you aren’t allowed to get even a dime. How is this fair?

When you sign the scholarship from the NCAA it says that you will be declared and amatueur and you will not be able to make any money from the use of your image, appearance, nothing. If you are a college basketball player from the struggling economic background your family will not be able to see you because you can not afford a ticket to your own games.

In the NCAA rules it says that the schools can not provide more than what the scholarship covers, like the mandatory fees and books, board, tuition, and rooming, according to USA Today. 

The NCAA will argue that the appeal of college sports lies in the fact that it is for amateurs, and that if it's amateur rules than the players should not be payed. The NCAA rules also protects competitive balance among the schools and conferences, for example a team like Kentucky can’t get all the best athletes because they can pay the athletes more than another school, because they can offer more money to a college athlete.    

The NCAA coaches get paid an average of $1.4 million dollars a year. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski made $4.7 million dollars in 2012.  One of Ed O’Bannon’s arguments will be that allowing players to receive compensation, he said, relieves pressure to leave after one year of college in the case of basketball stars, and three years in the case of football.Players, according to The New York Times. Players like Anthony Davis, John Wall, Michael Carter-Williams, and Damian Lillard all made a combined zero dollars for playing college basketball. The NCAA made millions off of using their images and selling products based off of them. The college players are often leaving college after a year to go pro because there families need money. They go into the league when they just aren’t ready for it yet and most of them don’t stay in the NBA and must go pro overseas or find a new job with no college degree. Some of the top prospects from high schools are now just spending a year playing pro overseas to make some money until they are eligible for the NBA draft. That is what Emmanuel Mudiay did and it almost cost him his whole career, out in China he got hurt and it lead a lot of NBA teams to back out of wanting him. But a guy like Aquille Carr wasn’t so fortunate as he decided to become a professional in a foreign country, and skip college. He still is trying to make it into the NBA, and the likeness of him making it is not very high. 

Before the NBA made an age requirement rule, 19, guys would go into the league straight from high school. A perfect example is LeBron James, he was broke and his family desperately needed money. He was right with his decisions to go into the league and forgo college. He made the right choice as he was ready for the league but what about the kids who stories weren’t told. They skipped college in order to make money and then they couldn’t go back to college because they couldn’t afford it. Now they are working at a job where they don’t make much money because the NCAA wouldn’t pay the college athletes. 

In 2012-2013 the NCAA made about $769.4 million dollars from college basketball alone. The athletes are seeing this money that the NCAA is making off of them and wondering why can’t they get some of their fair share. Ed O’Bannon saw this and got fed up so he decided to sue the NCAA for using his image. In the case Ed’s lawyers asked the judge to prohibit the NCAA from not allowing the players to not make money from using their own images.

Ed O’Bannon, 41, was a college basketball player for UCLA from 1991 to 1995, he played power forward. In 1995 UCLA won the NCAA basketball championship thanks to Ed O’Bannon who scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. He won NCAA Most Outstanding Player and won the John R. Wooden award. His number, 31, was retired and he was inducted into UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. He now currently works at a Las Vegas car dealership and has three children. He received a degree from UCLA in history back in 2011. 

College basketball is a $912.8 million dollar industry. The CBS/ Turner contract for men’s basketball is $681 million dollars and the D-I mens basketball tournament tickets bring in $82.3 million dollars. It’s not only D-I basketball that is making money as Non-D-I men’s basketball tournament championships helps bring in $28.3 million dollars. These college kids are bringing in ridiculous amounts of money for the NCAA and their respective school, but they aren’t allowed to touch any of it. 

But Ed O’Bannon stated the he could potentially have his name dragged through the mud sewing the NCAA, and no one wants their family name being dragged through the mud. He knew it was going to be an uphill battle and knew all the consequences but still decided to go against the NCAA. He has a lot of people looking at him like he’s crazy, they are telling him that he is crazy going against the NCAA, but not everyone is telling him that, as his former teammates and others are calling him up to thank him for going up against the NCAA. He just wants the college athletes to get their share of the wealth. 

Ed O’Bannon isn’t asking for the players to get paid millions of dollars, just enough so that the athletes can afford the same luxuries that upper and middle-class students can afford. For example like they can girlfriends to a dinner and a movie or enough to get a meal not provided by the college, like Chipotle or Burger King. He even said, “"I've said a million times that players aren’t asking for millions of dollars a year.” The reason behind this is because a lot of the NCAA college players come from a background where their parents can’t hand them money all the time. What happens is that a lot of these guys can’t bring their girlfriends on dates, like any other college student can, and they can’t get a job because school takes up a large amount a time, then the sport will take up the rest of it with practice and games. 

O’Bannon filed a antitrust class action lawsuit against the NCAA on behalf of its Division I football and men’s basketball players over the organization’s use for commercial purposes of the images of its former student athletes. United States antitrust law is a collection of federal and state government laws that regulates the conduct and organization of business corporations, generally to promote fair competition for the benefit of consumers. He filed this lawsuit back in 209 and joined forces with former players Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson. Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson are basketball legends who have a combined 12 NBA championships, 24 all-star game appearances, and 6 MVPs. 

The NCAA will try to argue that collegiate athletes are amateurs, and it would deprive athletes of a genuine choice, according to the New York Times. They will argue that if they pay the athletes to play it would transform college sports into something unrecognizable. They said that it would turn college into professionalism and it would take away the business mold of amuertism. They will also argue that they are compensated with the fact that the athletes tuition is paid for, and that they are getting the opportunity to compete. It also keeps a competitive balance and conferences. They will state that it helps the college provide a great deal of more scholarships. 

Ed O’Bannon’s lawyers will ask Claudia Wilken, the judge, to rule that the NCAA can not prohibit the college athletes from receiving some money from the broadcasts and video games, in which them or their likeness is being used. They will also argue that the NCAA broke the antitrust laws by prohibiting the college athletes from getting any profit from using the college athletes image or likeness. Ed will argue that the college athletes are employees, so they should be getting paid like any other employee. 

The Judge presiding over the trial is Judge Wilkin and the trial is expected to last about 15 days. There will be not jury, so the lawyers can present their cases in a way that’s less theatrical than you would see on television. The trial will not have any opening statements and will not be televised. The lead Lawyer for the players will be Michael Hausfeld, who is the chairman of Hauseld LLP. His resume includes him being a litigator for over 40 years and he has a number of noted cases. The NCAA’s lead lawyer will be Glenn Pomerantz, who recently worked on the behalf of the Department of Justice. The trial is in a federal court so the trial will not be aired because of the rules around a federal trial. 

In the trial Ed O’Bannon called Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, and a dozen other former college athletes to talk about their experiences as a college athlete.  They will also have an expert economists to come up and testify the fact that the NCAA is profiting so much money off the college athletes. The NCAA will call up a host of officials in the organization, like the Big Ten conference commissioner, Michigan's university president, and the athletic director of Stanford. The president of the NCAA will also be called up and examined by both sides.

The ruling was that judge ruled against judge rules against the NCAA. The judge ruled that the NCAA can not stop players from selling the rights to their names, images, and likenesses. The NCAA will be allowed to place a cap on how much they can put in a trust but it can’t be less than $5,000, and the amount that they put in can change from year to year. The judge ruled an injunction that allowed players at big schools to have money generated by television contracts put into a trust fund to pay them when they leave. “A judge ordered the NCAA to pay $44.4 million in attorneys' fees and another $1.5 million in costs to lawyers for the plaintiffs,” according to Sports Illustrated. The judge did rule that the NCAA can put a cap on the amount of money a player can make from the use of their image, name, or likeness, according to ESPN. This is a partial win for the NCAA because they can make sure the college players don’t make enough to destroy the whole collegiate sports atmosphere with a player solely playing to make money. The ruling of this decision only affects student athletes who enter their school after July 1st, 2016, according to the Miami Herald. 

 Ed O’Bannon said that it was just the tip of the icebreak, he thinks a lot will change and it's only the beginning, according to Espn. He said that he doesn’t care if the athlete, present or future, knows him, he just is satisfied knowing that his family is proud of him, and that he has changed the game. 

The long-term impact in the O’Bannon trial is predicted, by the New York Times, that it “could give colleges or conferences the option to make financial offers to high school recruits for their publicity rights, as a way to lure them to campus.” Ed O’Bannon is hoping that now the athletes will go to school longer to get their degree and be more prepared to make the jump to the pros. He changed the game forever, which was one of his goals when he started this whole thing. 

The NCAA generates billions of dollars and pay their coaches millions. Why can’t they pay the players some, because without the players the NCAA wouldn’t make a single dime. The NCAA players should get paid so they wouldn’t have to do the jump into the league before they are ready. Ed O’Bannon has won the fight but not the war between the NCAA and its athletes, but he is satisfied with the results as he said, "We are further now than we were last year at this time.”

Works Cited

"Ed O'Bannon." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.

Eder, Steve, and Ben Strauss. "Understanding Ed O’Bannon’s Suit Against the N.C.A.A." The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 June 2014. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.

Farrey, Tom. "Ed O'Bannon: Ruling Is Tip of Iceberg." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 10 Aug. 2014. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.

"NCAA Approaching $1 Billion per Year amid Challenges by Players." Indianapolis Star. Indy Star, n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.

Solomon, Jon. "Ed O'Bannon vs. NCAA: A Cheat Sheet for College Sports on Trial." CBSSports.com. CBS Sports, 8 June 2014. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.

The Tribes Aspect of Basketball

Tribes have been around for over thousands of years. They have been present since the caveman days and even exist today. You are distinguished by your tribe by what you do, the way you dress, the way you act, or the way you carry yourself. A tribe consists of a specific culture. A culture is a socially constructed and maintained through communication, it limits as well as liberates us, differentiates as well as unites us, defines our realities and thereby shapes the way we think, feel, and act. Today we don’t often refer to them as tribes but more rather cliques or groups, such as the video gamers, goths, or even basketball players. Basketball players are often easy to spot as they are often taller than the average person and often wear sports clothing. 

Basketball players are often found on the court rocking a pair of Jordan’s, Adidas, Nike, or other named brands of shoes, often sponsored by an NBA player. Stephon Marbury said that “kids today will kill each other for a pair of J’s (Jordan’s).” This is often true as it is quite fashionable to be having a pair of Michael Jordan’s shoes. Every basketball player knows MJ was the best basketball player of all time, and often kids want to wear of a pair of Jordan’s because they hope that way they can play like him one day. On the court they will be all wearing the matching uniforms to, they wear matching uniforms because they can distinguish who is on what team. They will wear numbers on the front and back of their jersey’s to be able to tell who is who easier. Typically a basketball player will wear a number significant to them. NBA superstar Russell Westbrook (OKC Thunder) wear the number 0 because,  “You go with the zero when you’ve been through something and you are looking to get a new beginning. It helps you get going again. It helps you get the swag back.” My teammate wore number 12 because of his grandma who has recently passed and that was her number when she played basketball. Off the court the typically basketball player can be spotted rocking a pair of walking J’s. They will often be wearing a sweatsuit in the winter to keep themselves warm. In the summer you will spot them wearing basketball shorts with an athletic t-shirt to keep themselves cool. 

The media’s depiction of basketball is usually in a negative view. Usually they are depicted as arrogant, cocky, ghetto people when that's not the truth. When LeBron James announced he was going to Miami and leaving his home, the media had a field day making him seem as if he was the devil. In all honesty he was just trying to win a championship. In the movie Coach Carter one of the basketball players comes from a bad background and gets a girl pregnant, another one of the players get shot and killed. This movie would persuade one to think that all basketball players are like this when it just isn’t true.  The movie White Men Can’t Jump is the reason that there is stereotypes inside of the basketball tribe. The black athletes are described as athletic, and have a better game, while the white athletes were portrayed as unathletic and having a higher basketball intelligence as well as more hustle. 

Basketball players are often expressive, leaders, and competition because of the skills they are required to have on the court. They are expressive because on and off the court the coaches is constantly pushing them to be expressive and put in what they think. On the court if a player messes up it is often recommended that you say something so they player won’t do it again. For example in the NBA semi-finals Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks were playing up against the Indiana Pacers. It was game 7 and the winner of the game would be proceeding into the NBA finals and the star player of the Knicks was Patrick Ewing. Ewing gets the ball and has a wide open layup, he leaves the court so high that he could dunk it, the ball leaves his hands and he misses. John Starks, teammate, came up to Ewing and yelled in the heat of the moment “WHY DIDN’T YOU DUNK IT! YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO!”  Reggie Miller came down to knock down his free throws to end the Knicks season. John Starks was expressing what he felt about Ewing in the moment and for the reason basketball players are often expressive of how they feel. 

They are leaders to because a “desired trait wanted by all coaches is leadership,” Coach Phillip would always tell me.  Chris Paul, NBA superstar for the Los Angeles Clippers, said “You don't always have to be a leader and be as vocal as I am. I'm sure some people would love it if I didn't talk as much as I did.” Chris Paul is often the face of leadership in today’s basketball because he is often found yelling and screaming to get his point across to his team. He also will let his teammates know if they are in the wrong spot or doing the wrong things. Kevin McHale, former head coach of the Houston Rockets, said that one time “Chris Paul actually told my players were they were supposed to be because they were in the wrong spot.”

 Basketball players are also very competitive as all anyone in basketball wants to do is win. Current New York Knicks player Carmelo Anthony said “When I step on that basketball court, I'm thinking about basketball, I'm thinking about winning - but there's so much that goes into thought about how I'm going to open this game up to others. It's so much more than just basketball.” When I played for the Deltona Thunder we were in the Championship game and we were down by 5 with 2 minutes left, we came back to send it into over-time. In over-time the opposing player had the ball with 5 seconds left, he drove past 2 of our players and his a floater in one of our player’s mouth to win the game. None of us talked for the rest of the day we were so mad that we came that close to glory just to mess it up and not have it. We all still think about that day that we came so close to winning it all. It haunts us all every day. 

A behavior trait we have is that we normally just stick with our teammates. In basketball is more than just a sport but more of a brotherhood. The coach is often looked as the father figure because they are the wise ones that will direct us in the right path. The teammates are often looked as your own brothers. You guys go out with the all for one and one for all attitude. Imagine before a game the nerves are kicking in and you are getting dressed for the game. Normally guys are either talking about the game plan, joking around to calm your nerves, or just listening to music. Then all silence as the coach walks in the locker room to give you your pregame talk. The coach goes over how this game will be executed and the game plan. After he goes over that everyone puts there hand in the middle and they go “ON 3 EVERYONE YELL WIN. 1, 2, 3” then everyone yells as loud as they can win. Then when you are waiting to go out and take your place on the court you look around at all your teammates, you realizes that you and all your brothers are about to go to war together. That is a moment I would never trade in my life. Often you guys are a brotherhood for life, as my best friend is my former teammate and we hang out and talk every day. 

At a typical basketball you will start off with stretching. You stretch so your muscles can get lose and you don’t accidentally pull something. Then you will do layup lines, which is everyone gets in two lines and one line goes in and takes a layup while the other line rebounds and then they will trade lines after. After that you will start running and doing drills. In the typically basketball game you will run throughout the whole game. So in order for you to not run out of breath you will have to do suicide lines, wind sprints, running around a track or a circle, or just running with a basketball as fast as you can up and down the court while maintaining the ball. You will also be doing drills that will help you in the games and get better with your skills. Most of the time the drills are in game time speed, so that when you get in the game it is that much easier to do a move or shot. After you are done with that you will either do a scrimmage or cool down drills, depending on the coach. A scrimmage is a game against your team, it is typically starter’s vs bench players. Or you will have to do a cooldown drill, when I played for a Christian basketball team we would end every practice with free-throws. We would do that so we could improve our free-throw percentage and cooldown so that way we would have our muscles quickly tightening up from going from a lot of activities, to doing nothing all of a sudden. 

Typically basketball players have been known for doing pre-rituals before a game. Lamar Odom, former L.A. Laker, use to eat candy before every game. He use to do this because it would calm him down and he enjoyed candy. Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors says that almost half the team engages in a service before each game. “It’s a little different than just sitting there, reading some Bible verses by yourself, as opposed to getting the word with others and really studying and praying together,” he said. The Golden State Warriors must be doing something right cause they are currently 23-1 and they had last year’s MVP, and this year currently frontrunner, Stephen Curry.  

People also have in game rituals. Like Michael Jordan, NBA Legend, would wear his North Carolina basketball shorts under his Chicago Bulls shorts every game. He would do this because he thought it would bring him good luck in the games. Carmelo Anthony has worn a headband every single game he has played since high school, he doesn’t plan to change it now since he has been a champion in high school and an NCAA champion in 2003 with the Syracuse Orangemen. On my team one of my teammates wore a shooting sleeve with pads on the elbow because he was convinced he would shoot better and play like Dwayne Wade. Nick Youngs pre-game ritual is that if he listens to a song and he gets 30 points, then the next game he will listen to the song before the next game.

The jargon we use in basketball is often found difficult for the average human being. When a player on the court says ball they are wanting their teammate to pass them the ball. When you hear outlet on the court they want you to pass the ball either up the court or to the three point line. If you hear the term set one they want you to set a pick on the defender. When you hear the term shot it usually means that someone has either shot the ball or that your teammate wants you to shoot that ball. If you hear the term 2-3, that is a defensive scheme. That means that 2 players are up on the 3 point line to defend and the other 3 defenders are back at the baseline. The baseline line is the line that is under the basketball goal and is the line that is out by the goal. The term cut is used for a player to go from the three point line to the basketball. If you so happen to be in the game and you see someone checking in and you hear someone calling your name you are coming out of the game. 

Basketball players often referred to as by nicknames. They can be made by shortening up the name, using your initials, using your number, or by how you play. Carmelo Anthony’s nickname is Melo because it is a shortened version of Carmelo. Chris Paul’s nickname is CP3 because it is his initials and he wears the number 3. Vince Carter’s nickname to his friends back in highschool was UFO because when he was just 5 feet tall he could already jump up and touch the rim, which is 10 feet. On my team we gave one of the kids a nickname of rabbit. We gave him that nickname because he was very unathletic and very slow. We did this because we thought it was funny to joke around with him about it. 

Basketball players are often very distinctive. My teammate and coaches are one I would never trade in my life because they are my family. Basketball is much more than a game it helps you gain a family and helps you with life skills like leadership or self-expressive. If you ever have a chance to play for a basketball team I encourage you to join one as you will make lifelong memories, and friends. 

Works Cited

"12 NBA Players And How They Chose Their Jersey Number." Straight Outta Westwood. N.p., 29 May 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.

Baron. Ntroduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture, Sixth Edition. USA: n.p., 2009. Print.

Basic and Applied Social Psychology. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Benson, Michael. Everything You Wanted to Know about the New York Knicks: A Who's Who of Everyone Who Ever Played on or Coached the NBA's Most Celebrated Team. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Pub., 2007. Print.

Halberstam, David. Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made. New York: Random House, 1999. Print.

Keh, Andrew. "N.B.A. Pregame Routine: Stretch. Tape Ankles. Join Hands in Prayer." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2015. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.

Oliver, Dean. Basketball on Paper: Rules and Tools for Performance Analysis. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, 2004. Print.

Oliver, Dean. Basketball on Paper: Rules and Tools for Performance Analysis. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, 2004. Print.

Pugliese, Gerry. "Inside Look at Lamar Odom’s Candy Addiction." Inside Look at Lamar Odom’s Candy Addiction. Diet Blog, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.

"Rhythm of the Night: NBA Players Talk About Their Pregame Warm-ups." Grantland. N.p., 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.

Stewart, Mark. Vince Carter: The Fire Burns Bright. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook, 2001. Print.

Stone, Jeff. White Men Can't Jump": Evidence for the Perceptual Confirmation of Racial Stereotypes Following a Basketball Game." Basic and Applied Social Psychology. 3rd ed. Vol. 19. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. Ser. 1997.

Reasons Why College Athletes Should Be Paid

Every year college athletes bring in millions to billions of dollars to their colleges but never see any of that money. March Madness brings in a billion dollars alone. College athletes should be paid by their respected colleges.

March Madness is a basketball tournament that only includes the best colleges in the country to play against each other. Their estimated amount of earning is $900 million dollars. March Madness bring in about 90% of the college's annual income and these college athletes who risk their bodies aren’t receiving any of its profits. College basketball players go starving every year because they can’t afford to eat. Basketball takes up most of their times so they can’t get a real job. 

In college football the issue isn’t being resolved either. For the Crimson Tide they bring in $28,410,419 from tickets and it’s total revenue is $123,769,841. But the players for the Crimson Tide isn’t seeing any of the money. These college kids are going out there and risking their lives with head injuries, and death but won’t see a penny of it. 

The average athlete spends 43.3 hours a week practicing their sport. This is a full-time job hours and on top of this these students have to go to school and study just like everyone else. It will teach them responsibility if they pay the players. If the players learn how to deal with money in college than it will be an easier transition into real life when they have to manage money. In college they are given the help by the coaches and professors who will assist them if they need it for money help, but in real life they can’t go to anyone for help. It will decrease the amount of athletes who go bankrupt after college. 

The NCAA is an $11 billion dollar industry, they are receiving all this money from these students. The students go out there and risk everything for them to receive zero dollars. College athletes are struggling to go out to eat or even take someone on a date like a normal college kid. They are being deprived from their college experience because the NCAA doesn’t want to pay the people who are raising all their money for them. In a normal workspace you are paid based on the amount of money you bring into the business. Now imagine if a workspace isn’t paying their employees a dime even though they raise $11 billion dollars, typically it would be all over the news but the NCAA wants to cover it up and hide the issue. 

When an athlete signs his letter of content to their college they sign away any right to receive any amount of money for their use of image or anything they do in college. The athlete can not raise any money from apparences or anything they could be in. This includes even after they graduate college. If the NCAA uses their image even after college the former athlete can not receive a dime from it, nor can they use their image for money. This is a shame on the NCAA because the athletes could be starving and not receive any money from it.

Shabazz Napier was a perfect example of an athlete starving. After a game one day the media was interviewing him about what he liked about college. He said that he would often go home starving because he couldn’t afford to buy himself more food than what the college was giving to him. The colleges will give the athletes food but often it is of inadequate proportions. Because of this players like Napier are going to bed starving every night and the NCAA is turning the other way and won’t give them money. Even though players like Napier are generating all the money for the NCAA and are the ones who risk everything for them.

The NCAA athletes should be paid because of how much money they generate for the NCAA. They aren’t asking for a ridiculous amounts of money just enough to go on dates, movies, and enough to eat. The NCAA needs to start paying the athletes because they are the ones who are risking everything for them. \

Works Cited

ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, n.d. Web. 10 May 2016.

"How Much Does the NCAA Make off March Madness? | Investopedia." Investopedia. N.p., 15 Mar. 2016. Web. 10 May 2016.

"Top 10 Reasons College Athletes Should Be Paid." Top 10 Lists ListLandcom. N.p., 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 10 May 2016.

How CTE Affects the NFL Players Long-term

Football has turned itself into America’s sport, the biggest event of the year has turned into an unofficial national holiday, but recently the issue has resurfaced about if the NFL is truly protecting their players. The NFL isn’t doing enough to protect the players against prevention and recovery of concussions. There has been lawsuits, movies, and news reports about the head trauma football players are facing. 

According to Jodi Balsam, “more than 2,000 former players have sued the NFL, seeking compensation for cognitive and neurological impairment caused by repetitive traumatic brain injuries.” They are claiming that “NFL has engaged in fraud, misrepresentation, and negligent conduct for over 50 years.” The NFL failed to fully warn these players about the long term effect of concussions and how serious they were. The players were never given any proper equipment, policies and procedures to deal with these concussions. The class action lawsuit just seeks to have the NFL take liability which would make NFL-funded medical monitoring program and associated health benefits. There is also a personal injury claim that seeks money for lost income, relief for medical bills and for personal suffering. 

The players won the lawsuit and the nfl had to pay up to $5 million per retired player for head-trauma-related medical bills. This was a huge win for the players because it meant that the NFL had to recognized the fact that they have lied to all their former players and now they have to face the consequences. Normally the Nfl would cover theses issues up and deny them, but this time they couldn’t

 Brain Trauma can lead you going crazy. On December 1,2012, Jovan Belcher, killed his longtime girlfriend then killed himself.  Dave Duerson was suffering with depression after he retired. Duerson took a gun and shot himself in the chest. The suicide note he left said to donate his brain to science, so they could determine if he was suffering with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). CTE is a disease which is associated with repetitive brain trauma. CTE can result in memory loss, mood swings and difficulty concentrating, eventually it will turn into dementia. CTE can also result in aggression and lack of impulse control. There is no known cure and it will start around the age of 40. The way to get it is by constant head trauma, like being repeatedly hit in the head. 

The numbers for the amount of concussions in the NFL each year is alarming. In 2012 there was 261 diagnosed concussions in the preseason and regular season, in 2015 there were 271 diagnosed concussions. In just 3 years the amount of diagnosed concussions have risen by 10, and yet the NFL has done very little to change this statistic to try to lower it. 

CTE is very prevalent in former NFL player, as in a study conducted by Harvard “evidence of a degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, was found in 87 out of 91 deceased NFL players' brains by researchers from the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center, according to PBS.” The NFL is trying to ignore these statistics but the growing concern around the country with this issue is making it hard to do. This isn’t only affecting the pros as children are playing this game to. 

According to Pellman, “high school players demonstrated more prolonged neuropsychological effects of concussion,” as compared to the professional athletes. Professional athletes have performed normal after 2 days of and regular injury, but the high school athlete demonstrates slower recovery time. There are about 3.8 million cases of concussion related injury every year in youth sports, and 8.9% of high school injuries are concussion based. The NFL needs to do improvements in their research with concussions to pass it on to the youth leagues. Their research could potentially help millions of children every year with concussion related injuries.

The NFL claims they are helping to stop the concussion epidemic in football. The NFL donated $30 million to the Bethesda, Md. based Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, to help research of brain injuries and other various injuries. According to the NFL this is the largest donation ever in league history. Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, said “"Our commitment here is to hopefully help set the standard and lead the way in research about head injuries, and we're doing it with the leading scientists." This donation came after the NFL was sued by over 3,000 of its former players, who claimed they haven’t done enough to properly help them with the head injuries. The year before this they had suffered 266 concussions in the league and the year before it was 270 concussions. This alarming amount of concussions that they have suffered shouldn’t have been what made them donate this money or that the players were suing them. They should have the players safety come first and not money.

The movie, Concussion, that came out during the holiday time caused a stir of contersey with the NFL as they were often asked if the players are truly safe playing football. A week before the movie came out the NFL held a conference with all the players to talk about head injuries. This is a little suspicious that they were getting worried about what the players are going to think about the NFL after the movie came out. They were also sending out their spokesmen to stations like ESPN to talk about how the NFL was dealing with concussions and all the progress they made. The NFL was working overtime to keep the public from criticizing them when the movie came out. 

Concussion was about a forensic pathologist, Bennet Omalu, and a neurosurgeon, Julian Bailes, who do an autopsy on a former Pittsburgh Steelers player and find some evidence of brain damage in their brains. The NFL has been trying to ignoring the issue and kept him in the shadows. According to Wijdicks, “What starts out as a cordial conversation quickly takes a contentious turn as Maroon warns Omalu that the release of his findings will jeopardize one of America's most popular sports.” If these finding came to the general public it could jeopardize the game entirely and have it potentially stopped. If they found out that football can kill kids and it's very prevalent than people will stop playing football. The Nfl was hiding the issue because they were worried that if this type of information came out that the players will stop playing.

Bennet Omalu says he believes that OJ Simpson suffers from CTE, he says that because of the actions that Simpson has done. The NFL spokesman said that this claim is irresponsible because he’s very highly respected and they will believe it. There’s no way of testing if you have CTE until you die, and that you can’t blame every former NFL player’s actions on CTE. The Spokesman also said that he has to be very careful of what he says because people will take his word like the bible because of how highly respected he is. The spokesman of course is going to say that there’s no correlation because that would be a bad image of the NFL. If it turns out that OJ has CTE than everyone is going to think that every NFL player is going to turn into a killer and go insane. 

Will Smith, who plays Bennet Omalu, says that he took the role of the doctor in this film because he didn’t know all the hazards of playing football while his son was playing football. Initially he wasn’t going to take it because he didn’t want to be “that guy” but eventually he agreed to play this part so parents everywhere can be informed when they have there kids playing football. Will Smith said the director, himself, and the creative team had no contact with the NFL at all. He said that they didn’t need it because they talked to Dr. Omalu and read the transcripts, they also had the families there in Philadelphia while filming this film. 

Smith went on to say that football has the fastest, strongest bodies playing the sport. If you have the fastest strongest people coming at each other once a week for a game and more at practice, there’s bound to be some head trauma. If someone has a guy who is 300 pounds running at you and hitting your head, they will have some head trauma. 

The NFL has tried to change the rules when it comes to hitting the quarterback. The rule is that you can’t hit the quarterback when they are throwing or after the throw. The USA Today reported that “49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, said the rule is flawed and bias.” He thinks this because the referees will enact this rule more with a superstar quarterback compared to a normal quarterback. The rule should be enacted for every quarterback no matter how sensational they are, because they are trying to protect their players. 

In an interview conducted by the USA Today Harbaugh said that when his team was penalized for a late hit the referees told him that the quarterback clearly didn’t have the ball, but when his quarterback did the same exact play and got hit they didn’t penalized the team. This is a humiliation to the NFL because it was clearly the same play that occurred but the referees are picking favorites. The referees shouldn’t be picking favorites because it could potentially harm a player if the referee doesn’t call penalties for one team but calls them for another. 

The issue with this rule is mainly the gray areas, in this case it is decided by the referees. In some cases the referees will make calls leaning toward the bigger paid players because they bring in more money than the average player. Before every game the referees for the games get together and talk about how they will call the game. Most of the time they will spend more time paying attention to the bigger products than the lesser known names. Even “Packers linebacker Clay Matthews said in multiple interviews this week the plan is to test the NFL's rules on hitting read-option quarterbacks by knocking around Kaepernick whenever they get the chance.” If a player is saying this before a game it is very scary for Kaepernick. This means that he is going to hit him every chance he gets, even if it’s illegal just to test what the referees will call. 

CTE isn’t only an NFL issue as non NFl football players has been diagnosed with it. A college student who player for Ohio State University, Kosta Karageorge, went missing, after he told his mother that concussions had messed up his head. Later in the week they found him dead in a dumpster, he shot himself in the chest. This is an extremely heartbreaking story because he was a walk on to OSU which is very difficult to do. 

Terry Long was an offensive linemen for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 80’s and early 90’s. One night when he was home alone he drank antifreeze and when they found him, he was unresponsive, he died a few hours later. 

Earlier this season New Orleans Saints quarterback, Drew Brees, was hit in the head during a game. After this hit he wasn’t feeling right so he checked himself out of the game to prevent further injury to his head. The trainers on the sideline, who part of their job is to notice when someone has a concussion or symptoms of it, didn’t catch this. It was good sign that Brees checked himself out of the game, but what about the guys who don’t. Brees makes $18,750,000 a year, so he doesn’t have to worry about supporting his family if he checks out of the game. But what about the guys who are less fortunate and doesn’t make as much as him? 

Those guys are living check to check because they are living way beyond their means on living. In the Nfl those guys are very competitive and try to keep up with the guys who make a lot more than they do. If they get hurt out of the field they won’t necessarily check themselves out because they are worried about being paid. Those players are the ones who won’t be diagnosed and eventually develop CTE.  

The Nfl has to do something about that issue, because if they check out they aren’t getting all the money they would have because they are hurt. Their contracts guarantee so much money will be paid to them not matter if they are hurt or not, but if you don’t play you don’t get the extra money you would get if you played. So some of these players won’t be checked out so they can get all that extra money. The Nfl needs to address this issue because eventually one these player will get extremely hurt, because they will play with a concussion then get hit again. In worst case scenario some player will die on the field if they keep playing with a concussion. 

If a player were to die on the field the Nfl would be under a lot of scrutiny. The media and public would sit back and wonder if they should continue to support this game. Already some people like Carlos Guerrero are saying that the concussion issue is already turning them off the game, because of their denial about the issue. Guerrero said that football use to be his favorite sport to watch, and he use to be addicted to it. But now he says “ the thing that I most associate with the NFL is those same players completely forgetting their own memories.” It is sad to know that some of the sports icons that kids will look up to will forget all their memories. 

The New York Giants faced scrutiny this year as they allegedly let their superstar wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr, play with a concussion. In the first week of the season Odell got rocked by the defender in the first quarter and he was visibly shaken up after the huge hit. As he came stumbling over to the Giants bench the medical staff tried to undergo a concussion test, but he was cleared to play. They seemed to have rushed the process because Odell didn’t miss any time in the game. The previous was under review and during that time the Giants apparently performed the concussion procedures. Instead of making sure Odell was perfectly healthy they rushed him back out on the field in order to win the game. The Nfl seems to care more about money and winning the games instead of the players well being.

The Nfl is a business and wants to protect their valuable assets. The Nfl, however, needs to be reminded that, they are not only dealing with money but also people's lives. They seem to just care about the money and spend more time protecting their big names players. What the Nfl fails to do is protect the “no named” players. They need to recognize that they are responsible for protecting every player in the league, not just a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. 

Concussions are a very serious issue that they seem to be trying to ignore, but eventually they can’t ignore the issue anymore, the issue is relevant in all aspects of today’s world. Movies have been made around the issue, the news stations are covering this issue, and ESPN has been discussing this issue a lot recently. The issue has became a household one as everyone in America knows about. The Nfl needs to do something to help protect their players from concussions because eventually it will turn to CTE. With social media as prevalent as it is today the Nfl should consider that if a big named player, that the kids know today, dies of CTE it will be shown all over Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. They need take this issue and make sure that it doesn’t happen to any other players.