College Basketball Player Ruled Ineligible For Trying to Feed Family

Jamar Samuels, a senior Kansas State basketball player, had to sit out a 3rd round NCAA Tournament game as his school held him out over eligibility concerns, which resulted from a $200 wire transfer that a former coach, Curtis Malone, sent to him.  Kansas State lost this game to Syracuse, 75-59, and Samuels' career ended without him getting another chance to play.  Malone said of Samuels, "The kid's family doesn't have anything and he called me for money to eat."  Kansas State held him out because of concerns about rigid NCAA rules regarding handouts from non-family members.  Kansas State Coach Frank Martin said Samuels was "our toughest kid," having gone from someone who almost quit the team to a highly respected player on and off the court. 

This story should have people asking lots of questions about the exploitation of college athletes, especially in football and basketball.  The thousands of college basketball and football players across the nation may get full scholarships to play their sports and get an education for free, but they are actually getting ripped off.  They take on very demanding schedules with high expectations in their sports and that they will graduate with a degree.  Their schedules usually mean they cannot take tough courses to get certain in-demand degrees.  They cannot take a part-time job in the off-seasons.  But, if their family has been hit the economic recession, they may have to risk their eligibility at a moment's notice to lift their family out of poverty, as Samuels as had to do. 

Meanwhile, winning schools and the NCAA corporate sponsors are getting rich off of the players, who are the ones doing the hard work while not getting compensated for it.  At a bare minimum, they should get some form of lifetime healthcare coverage as injuries from these sports, especially football, can hurt them permanently.  Too often, the money made from these games ends up fattening the salaries of the University presdients and the most successful coaches.   These sports widen income inequality as the most successful athletes go on to professional sports, where the most successful athletes there become part of the Top 1% before they fully know how to handle money.  And the athletes who do not make it may face disabling injuries like concussions that hamper their ability to work.

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/2012/3/17/2880980/jamar-samuels-ineligible-curtis-malone-wire-transfer