It’s A Study That Comes Out Every Year That Nobody Truly Reads (blackathleate.net)
So is that true? Are a good majority of the African American basketball players that Dr. Lapchick’s study points out only see the short term solution of escaping poverty by trying to use a college career as a stepping stone to the three letter league or is Coach Brown, myself and others just that far sighted and do not see the overall picture ourselves? I ponder the question because I’m a firm believer that this study does indeed shed some light on a situation that the Black community fails to even acknowledge. This is basically a study that the community doesn’t want to read because it tears into the very ‘Cinderella†fabric of the world as the community knows it. In past years maybe no one would take notice but this year’s study deserves the attention of the Black community and the community at large because there are some disturbing trends that need to be discussed in an open forum manner.
THE FIGURES THAT NOBODY WANTS TO SEE
Dr. Lapchick’s study for 2005 showcased some very disturbing numbers that seem to suggest that something is just not kosher for the Black college athlete who plays basketball. A few highlights of the study are as follows and are taken directly from his study:
• Less than three in 10 (17, or 28 percent) of the men’s tournament teams graduated 70 percent or more of their white basketball student-athletes, while only 10 (16 percent) graduated 70 percent or more of their African-American basketball student-athletes.
• More than two out of five (25, or 42 percent) of the men’s tournament teams graduated 60 percent or more of their white basketball student-athletes, while fewer than one in five schools (12, or 19 percent) graduated 60 percent or more of their African-American basketball student athletes.
• Among the women’s teams,(more…)
Read the rest of this article when you get the chance. They also provide a link to the actual full report.
The question for today as it pertains to this article is: Will information like this motivate anybody to action, or will this just serve as more ammunition for those that love to debate?
March 23rd, 2005 at 10:20 am
it is NOT the universities responsibility to “graduate” its students- be they athletes or regular students
it IS the resposibility of the student to graduate- student athlets are given more opportunity to graduate than their non athletic peers- they are given scholarships and tutors- in some cases this equates to over 100,000$ for a 4 year education. IT IS WITHOUT QUESTION THE STUDENTS RESPONSIBILITY TO GRADUATE BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF WHAT IS BEING OFFERD THEM. PS - the studydoes not address how many athletes “black or white” leave early for the NBA,NFL etc, and then choose not to finish school. this again skews the actaul numbers. it cant lways be about being black–it has to be about the individualtaking responsiblity for themselves. signed- not athletic enough for a scholarship……..
March 23rd, 2005 at 10:55 am
in response to the first comment– is “sports journalism” not an occupation?- michael wilbam, clark kellog,ralph wiley, john saunders, robin roberts to name a few.
do you know how many white kids dont make the pros? it is the responsibility of black parents toi tell thier kids the truth about sports- there are only 2000 positions in the NFL, they draft appox 250 per year- and there are appx 2500 college seniors trying for those- in the NBA it is even harder-there are 10,000 college seniors trying fo 450 spots. please tell your children to read a book…. then they wont have to worry about being used by “the man” ; they will be able to graduate on thier own and become the man.