The former NFL star, JJ Watt, called NCAA on Monday to refer to college athletes as a student first.
Watt, in an article on X, underlined the money that the organization earns, the advent of the name, the image and the resemblance (Nile), the transfer portal and the background teams must do.
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The defensive winger of the Cardinals of Arizona, JJ Watt, # 99, reacts after a defeat to the patriots of the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, in Arizona, on December 12, 2022. (Patrick Breen / The Republic / USA Today Network)
“At one point, the NCAA must abandon the Charade” student first, the athlete “, wrote the former star of the Wisconsin badgers.” Billions of dollars, Nile, transfer portal (free agency), cross-country crossing for matches in the middle of the week …
“Education is not the main objective. Admit it and call it what it is. A company. Perform it as such.”
When an X user noticed that Watt’s point did not seem to refer to the best players of the best programs, Watt accepted.
“This is exactly my point,” added Watt. “We have children who do not” earn money “and will never become pro, but they travel across the country in the middle of the week for” conference games “, transfer of schools, sacrificing studies for sport, etc. None of this is the best for the student.”
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Arizona’s defensive line defensive player, JJ Watt, # 99, arrives on the field before a match against the Patriots at the Glendale, Arizona, December 12, 2022 state. (Patrick Breen / The Republic / USA Today Network)
Many university coaches in the ranks of the NCAA have echoed Watt.
Former Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban has torn Nile’s treatment in university sports in February 2024.
“What we have now is not university football – not university football as we know it. You hear someone use the word” student -athlete “. This does not exist,” said Saban in an interview with ESPN.
He added that the collectives in university sports had “nothing to do with name, image and resemblance”.
ESPN analyst Nick Saban before the match between Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Le Penn State Nittany Lions at Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on January 9, 2025. (Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn images)
“Just like an NFL player has a contract or a coach has a contract, something in place, so you don’t have all these raids of lists and mass movements,” he said. “I wonder what fans will say when they do not even know the team of year to year, because there is no development of teams, just bring new players each year.”
