NCAA Will Always Make Sure Black Players Don't Profit Off Their Name and Likeness

The slavemasters at the NCAA have finally said they'll allow student-athletes to reap the rewards of selling their name, image, and likeness. Or it could just be a PR stunt in response to California's passage of a law and the promises of elected officials in other states, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, to allow the same.

At a news conference last month with black legislators, DeSantis said he would push for a similar law in 2020. "If you were on scholarship for chemistry and somehow figured out a way to monetize that, no one would say anything," DeSantis said.

Facing a public relations disaster if the NCAA went ahead with its threat to ban California college athletic programs because of the new law, its leaders are now backing off. Tuesday, they voted unanimously to "start the process" of changing its rule that prohibits college sports players from profiting off their name, image, and likeness — but only "in a manner consistent with the collegiate model." That means conforming to the NCAA's plantation mentality. Rest assured the rewritten rule will be a lot different for football and basketball players, a majority of whom are black, than for players of traditionally white sports like soccer, tennis, and golf. White players who come from poor families won't catch a break either as the NCAA is about maintaining the white privilege status quo.

Some experts don't believe the NCAA is serious. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas recently said the NCAA is trying to save face. He pointed out that only two months ago the NCAA called California's law unconstitutional and said it posed an "existential threat" to college sports.

If the NCAA actually moves forward with reforms, they likely won't benefit black college sports players. For example, a kid might sign a lucrative deal to wear Puma, but if a university's athletic department has an agreement with Nike or Adidas, that player wouldn't be allowed to wear Puma apparel on the field or during media days, booster parties, and other school-sponsored events. The only players that will benefit from the NCAA's rule change will be the kid being groomed to be a franchise quarterback, who usually comes from white privilege or a situation like the movie The Blind Side.

The NCAA wants to make sure African-American student-athletes and poor white student-athletes remain indentured servants. It's integral to the profit model.