1 of 8

No

Write now Article Tools

If an athlete accepts a college scholarship, the goal of that scholarship should be to achieve an education not become the next player in the National Basketball Association. If they drop out of school to be put in the lottery for a shot at turning from semi-pro to professional athlete, that is obviously their call. But to return to the school if not selected, athletic scholarship reinstated? No.

That athlete took a seat in classes meant for students, not as a ticket to play professional sports. They displaced someone who wanted that same chair to get an education, someone not as gifted in bouncing a ball and putting it through a hoop suspended 10 feet in the air. That scholarship was to be a student who played basketball, not to be a basketball player who occasionally showed up for classes.

That athlete should learn to stick it out in college; or, if they drop out, selected in the NBA draft or not, be required by the school to fund a scholarship for a non-athlete to attend that school, to take that seat, and get the education they truly desire. There are plenty of people who desire an education for their own betterment who cannot afford it that athlete and their scholarship dollars were wasted if they drop out without graduating.

These athlete-students are sending a powerful, and destructive, message by dropping out of school. Only a few dozen men actually play in the NBA. The odds of actually making it into the NBA are nearly as low as the odds of wining a state lottery. And yet, these young men would waste those scholarship dollars that could give them a shot a productive lifetime to enter that high-risk game.

They are supposed to be student-athletes, not the turned-upside-down model that has taken over college athletics.

The industry that surrounds college athletics is insane, the business model has no place influencing educational goals or course access. But it does, oh, it does. And major dollars continue to flow in ever-increasing amounts into something completely non-productive, for the entertainment of the masses.

Oh, I understand reaching for the brass ring if it is presented. Taking risks is part of life, and success. But every risk involves the potential for failure, too, and that is a lesson that needs to be getting sent, not that there is no reason to abandon your education in favor of getting into professional sports a year earlier - maybe.

Bread and circuses, anyone?

Learn more about this author, W Thomas Payne.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Should college drop-out basketball players not picked in the NBA draft be allowed to return to college play??
We want to hear your view. Write now!