40 Million Dollar Slaves # 5

As I am close to finishing the book I learned about the college recruiting process, where I learned things I never thought happened. I learned that recruiting was a big part of a colligate sports program where a few star athletes could turn a losing team into a money making, winning team skyrocketing revenue. The recruiting process  starts at a early age making future stars feel they are above the rest. Young athletes become accustomed to hearing “yes” all the time and having adults flatter over them , giving  them second and third chances because of the promise of their talents.  The end result sees that most young athletes are not given any restraints off the court. As whites and blacks both experience the recruiting process, the author explains that African Americans enter  a whole new society.

With college basketball prominently played by African Americans , the value placed on African Americans has escalated and the stakes in the recruiting game began to rise. Predominantly White colleges and universities which once banned or ignored black athletes were now going out of their way to bring African Americans on campus by any means necessary. As a athlete is being wanted by multiple schools it is not uncommon that a college with buy the player shoes, take him out to dinner, get him some nice clothes and maybe give him a car. As recruits are getting things they never had before there life’s are changing. They will go away from their origins and throw the past away. Many athletes who reached the professional or college level sometimes fear returning to the neighborhoods they grew up in.

In the chapter I read about former NBA All-Star Chris Webber who criticized black colleges for not having built a better foundation. Webber was the top high school recruit in 1992 and could choose any college he wanted to. He could of went to a historically black college and changed the program around but they could simply not compete. He chose Michigan and took his team to the Final Four. He says that the black colleges did not put themselves in a position of leverage during the time when they had a monopoly on black athletes. The star athletes are skipping out on a colleges where they would fit if not playing sports and are being attracted by prestige schools. These school  have the needs to attractive the blue chip black athletes such as better facilities, larger arenas, more up to date training centers, and TV contracts.

African Americans recruits  see different educations from high school to college. But the ones who are not on a scholarship do not get a opportunity to education to better themselves.  Do the school systems need to be improved in low-income cities to prepare all kids for the future?