St. Peter’s University’s run of upsets wasn’t the only storyline from this year’s March Madness tournament. The other is that the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team is in trouble for allegedly paying its players, in violation of NCAA rules. It is time for the NCAA to do the right thing and allow players to be paid, for three main reasons.
The first is fairness. College players are unpaid laborers who generate millions of dollars for others.
The second is that big-time college sports are, in fact, a business. There is nothing amateur about the NCAA’s $1.15 billion in revenue, its marketing deals, college coaches’ and athletic directors’ salaries, or the amount of time many athletes put in to compete at a high level.
