More on the Exploitation of NCAA Athletes

As I indicated in the inaugural post of I've Got an Idea that I Want to Share, Division I mens college basketball players are not being adequately compensated for the revenues that they generate for their colleges and universities. Among my many problems with the current system is that individual players are marketed by their schools for profit without compensating those player in any way. Today, as part of my travels, I saw further proof of this upon a visit to City Sports at Gallery Place when I saw a Georgetown basketball jersey for sale featuring the number 55. Over the past three seasons, Georgetown's best and most popular basketball player has been Roy Hibbert, a 7' 2" center. Anyone want to take a guess what number he wore? Yes, astute reader, he wore the number 55.

If you click on the photo above, you will see that the jersey sells for $75.00, of which Roy Hibbert will receive exactly $0.00. For sale beside the Hibbert jersey was a jersey for the Washington Wizards featuring the number 0. Gilbert Arenas, the Wizards' best and most popular player, happens to wear number 0. So, the numbers on these jerseys are not coincidences. The popularity and acclaim of both men are being utilized for financial gain, and only one of them is being compensated for it. I guess those are just one of the breaks when you're an "amateur" like Hibbert and one of the benefits when you're a "pro" like Arenas.