With two weeks of fantasy football behind us, many owners are scrambling to find a way to lift their team into legitimate contention. Others are prematurely writing their season off. Some are kicking their feet up, watching their team do exactly what they were drafted for.
But, most do not understand the implications of the $5 entry fee you paid if you are a collegiate athlete.
According to official NCAA rules concerning participation in fantasy sports, “The NCAA opposes all forms of legal and illegal sports wagering, which has the potential to undermine the integrity of sports contests and jeopardizes the welfare of student-athletes and the intercollegiate athletics community.”
This law governs fantasy football and shows it is overstepping the NCAA’s jurisdiction. Their good intentions have turned into suffocating confinement.
In the eyes of the NCAA, any act of monetary gain by an amateur athlete involving athletic contest is prohibited. In some ways, this is understandable. Apps like DraftKings and FanDuel have aspects of their site in which members can actually make day-to-day lineups involving collegiate athletes. Therefore, point shaving and game fixing would always be questioned if this were legalized. Who knows how many Perla Brothers Boston College scandals we would have if these laws were amended?
But, that is not the point. True freedom in fantasy football is unfeasible. We get that, but why are harmless, friend and family leagues also forbidden?
When it comes down to the observed definition of gambling and its relation to fantasy football, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act of 2006 states fantasy sports are a game of skill. So, why does the NCAA not treat it as such?
It is an ongoing and undying dispute between collegiate athletes and the organization governing them. In reality, it marks a symbolic microcosm of societal discrimination. The restrictive forces of the higher-ups, which typically do not take into account the magnitude of their constraints, often overtake the natural ebb and flow of this dynamic.
It is like we are missing a fundamental aspect of American government. Where are the checks and balances? There is the College Athletes Players Association, but their voice is muffled just as much as the athletes. It is like a union that is not unionized.
The average university generates $31.9 million each year from football alone. That is a lot of dough. They have the power to go against the grain. Imagine how quickly the collective universities would stand up and voice student athletes’ opinions if something like the 2011 NBA lockout was orchestrated.
Clearly, that is a hypothetical reality that is not a viable option, but it does spark some ideas.
Queue patriotic music.
Unjust laws have been amended before. Typically, it is due to the voice of the people. We have the voice of the people. It is the consensus amongst collegiate athletes they should be able to participate in this recreational activity. So, speak up and defy the suppressors and maybe leniency in this respect will be granted.
In the words of the Bad News Bears, let the kids play. And maybe…maybe give us back EA Sports’ NCAA Football. That would be cool, too.
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