That's just not true and it's the kind of sensationalism that's run amok regarding our situation. Those athletes had every opportunity to enroll in education, Pre law, drama or any other major of their choosing. They chose to go the route they did. Now, don't take that comment to mean that I support an institution offering phony majors and degrees. But pretty much every former athlete that I've heard speak to this issue has stated the same thing - a student athlete gets out what they put in. If you want to coast at any school, you can. If you want to pursue a more demanding educational experience, you can do that too. The onus is on the student. Y'all will argue that "18 year old kids can't be counted on to make those decisions and that's why athletic departments have counselors and the like". I say BS. First of all, at 18, one is an adult. You have to grow up sometime and taking responsibility for your future career path is a good way to start. Secondly, these student athletes should have someone in their life they count on to help them make decisions. If they don't, then those student athletes have to grow up a little faster. But y'all know the deal here. These ball players all think they're going on to play professionally. Only a few go to college for a "real" college experience. I know it's fun for y'all to make it sound like Carolina "took advantage of these poor, uninformed, minority teenagers" but where's the personal accountability?
I went to college. Most of y'all probably did too. Did you have someone making your decisions? Probably not. But for argument's sake, let's say that during your freshman year your academic advisor suggested you pursue a degree in Statistics. You hate statistics. Are you just going to say, "Oh well, I guess I'm doing statistics because that's what someone told me to do."? No. You took matters into your own hands. You told them what you were going to major in. You made that decision. You might have consulted with your parents, a mentor or an old high school teacher. Or you might have made that decision alone. I did. Granted, I didn't and most of you probably didn't play a sport on scholarship. But the decision is still the player's decision to make. But these players aren't looking for an education. Let's be real about that. Karl Anthony Towns seems like a very bright kid and a good student. But he wasn't looking for an education. He handled his business while he was there and for that he should be applauded. But don't act like he has a real interest in developing an in depth understanding of any one area that he plans to make a career of.
And I don't know about y'all, but I didn't learn my trade in college. I learned a lot in college. But it wasn't because of any curriculum. I learned cooperative learning. I learned time management. I learned interpersonal and social skills. But as far as my career (Human Services), I've learned everything I know from 20 years of experience in the field. I guess some careers rely on schooling - medical field, law and maybe a few others. But many jobs don't rely on schooling. They rely on experience to teach. One of my duties in my position is to hire people. What their GPA was in college is of no concern to me. Hell, their major doesn't really matter. What matters most to me when I'm hiring is the applicant's ability and willingness to learn. Also, emotional intelligence ranks a lot higher on my list than intellectual intelligence - do you have the right personality for the job? And while you can improve both in college, the former is not dependent on curriculum. I guess the point I'm making is that college degrees are overrated in a sense. Many companies like people to come in as a blank slate so they can train them exactly how they want them without the potential hire having any preconceived habits, preferences, etc.
I know that's a long rant. But it's my thoughtful response. Many of you will do everything you can to shoot holes in my post. I get the rivalry thing. But I hope to appeal to the more level headed posters here. Again, I recognize the wrong doings that occurred. And this post doesn't seek to excuse any of that. I'm also not meaning to delve into what punishments I feel would be appropriate. I'm simply discussing my opinion of the college experience and how it relates to the workings of the real world and how the media and many rival fans have sensationalized and overstated how our student athletes have been impacted.
