Athlete does not equal student-athlete

Since I read Dan Wetzel's column on the Derrick Rose thing yesterday, I have been contemplating the relationship between college and pro sports.

Not that I think Derrick Rose is blame-free of any wrong doing if he did have someone else take his SAT. Cheating is cheating, but I also think there are bigger issues here. I see a problem with how society created a situation in which Rose would do anything to get past the academic standards that don't really make sense for someone wanting to pursue athletics.

Cultural norms currently tell us that basketball players should attend and play some college ball before going into the NBA. The players need to perform in the classroom before we see them on the court.

However, the players most affected by all this are predominantly black, which makes me wonder about the sports that are predominantly white. Wetzel gives the examples of Danica Patrick (car racing) and Shawn Johnson (gymnast). (I'll save the gender issues for another day.)

College was not the main consideration as these women turned pro in their sport as teenagers, but it's not as if they ignored education. Shawn Johnson is an honor roll student at a public high school while Danica Patrick dropped out of high school and earned her GED in order to pursue her racing. The point is that they had choices, choices that let them pursue their sport and have whatever education they wanted without being judged.

Then again, why does the NBA get to use the NCAA as its minor league at all? We have minor league baseball and college baseball which are able to coexist, why not the same in basketball?

I was a student-athlete. However, note the word that comes first - student. What is the point of sending kids to college when the athlete is their priority? Some kids are skilled enough to earn a living with their athletic talent. Why don't we let them without vilifying the fact that they aren't academically inclined?

I went to college knowing that it would be the highest level I would probably play. There is a difference between a student-athlete and a professional athlete, so why are the two forced together in basketball?

Do we as a society think that basketball is the only way black males will reach college? Or is the only way to justify having black males in the college classroom is if they are leading the school to a Final Four?