Link here
Really good read. I know there were a ton of people who were "outraged" a few weeks ago when it was announced that the so called Power 5 would be granted autonomy, but here is a story that illustrates the life of a college student athlete.
Some notes from the story
Really good read. I know there were a ton of people who were "outraged" a few weeks ago when it was announced that the so called Power 5 would be granted autonomy, but here is a story that illustrates the life of a college student athlete.
Some notes from the story
"At one point I came home and I had no power in my house and my water wasn't running. I hadn't paid my bills."
And he had no immediate prospects as to how to pay those bills. He was out of money. This was last summer in the drudgery of workouts. After some time off, he had returned to the residence he shared with defensive tackle Tobi Okuyemi. The utilities had taken their own bye week. Actually more.
"I went without power for like a week and half," Bell said. "I didn't go home. I stayed up at the stadium until I would go to sleep because I couldn't do anything at my house.
"All the lights were off. It was terrible."
So Bell -- an ethnic studies major carrying a double minor (history, sociology) -- hit the bricks. He snagged a job as a bartender at Lincoln watering hole The Bar.
In that sense, Bell was the typical college kid. Backed into a financial corner, he slung beers, mixed Jack and Cokes. Bell periodically worked double shifts -- 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. -- sometimes totaling 30 hours a week.
Some in that situation would have at least called home to get the power turned back on. A young adult balancing football, books and a dark house made an admirable decision.
"What kind of 22-year old man, is like, 'Hey Mom [I need money]'?" Bell said. "I want to say, 'I'm a man. I take care of myself.'"
His story -- that of the modern college athlete -- has the most vitality. While the NCAA allows it, for any major-college player to hold a job of lasting substance is thought to be a near impossibility. Everyone pretty much agrees that athletes go beyond the NCAA-mandated 20-hour work limit for their sport.
"People don't understand we're at the stadium from 7 in the morning to 9:30 at night. They have no idea," Bell said. "They see us play on Saturday and score a touchdown and how much fun we have. That looks fun. Yeah, that's fun except I've been training the last nine months to do it."
Football overwhelms. But get a job? Ridiculous, unless the lights went out and it was impossible to shower. Bell has scores of allies out there.
"I've got, I think, $15 in my bank account right now," Iowa State center Tom Farniok said this summer. "I couldn't get a job this summer."
That needs to be qualified. Farniok was lucky. He had an unpaid internship in the athletic department this summer that could help him toward his goal of being a strength coach.
Still, Farniok makes a point:
"Until regular people understand we're not regular people, they're not going to get it," he added. "We sacrifice a lot to try to put a good product out on the field for them. They flat out do not know what it's like to live that lifestyle."
Let's start with how blessed we are and how lucky we are," Bell said. "We get an opportunity. We get an education. We get more connections than anyone could ever ask for, which is all fantastic.
"But when you talk about capitalism, people use the word 'exploited' because we're athletes. People don't come to the game to watch the coaches on the sideline. They come to watch the players play the game.
"The fact that guys barely have enough money to pay their bills, get gas, can't really take their girlfriends out for a movie very often. It's a tough thing when you talk about multibillion-dollar TV contracts."