Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Tells College Athletes To Unite
Legendary NBA center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is speaking out against the NCAA‘s tyranny and telling college athletes to unite
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Former
and
‘ legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is never shy.
Whether he is ripping some of his former squad’s moves, tearing down Dwight Howard or simply doing a normal, every-day interview, Abdul-Jabbar is very outspoken.
Now, he is turned his attention to the NCAA. The former UCLA Bruins‘ star doesn’t like the way the organization treats their athletes. In an essay with Jacobin, Abdul-Jabbar documented his time at UCLA and how little money he had, claiming “he was always too broke to do much but study, practice, and play.” He had to take jobs during summer breaks and even had to pass on playing for the United State Olympic team in 1968. He also worked as a groundskeeper at UCLA during the spring. He soon let his godfather scalp tickets to games in order to get more money.
That’s why he believes college athletes should unite against the NCAA.
"While such horrific and despicable conditions are rarer in the United States, we still have to be vigilant against all forms of exploitation so that by condoning one form, we don’t implicitly condone others. Which is why, in the name of fairness, we must bring an end to the indentured servitude of college athletes and start paying them what they are worth.The August decision by a federal judge to issue an injunction against NCAA rules that ban athletes from earning money from the use of their names and likenesses in video games, also included television broadcasts. This in itself could do much to bring about the end of NCAA tyranny."
Abdul-Jabbar does raise several good points and college athletes looking to be paid everywhere are probably quite pleased with his piece.
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