Another study finding ignorant athletes

[jesmu84]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/09/us/ncaa-athletes-unc-response/index.html?c=homepage-t

What a sad situation we live in. Completely misplaced priorities throughout society.

[rocket surgeon]

just more of the nothing to see here, move along attitude.  the problems start at the lower levels.  they are coddled through high school to college and guess what?  they can't read or write and the colleges have to try to get them up to apeed, but at the same time, they have a big time "fill in the sport" to display.  now their lack of fundamental educational skills becomes a distraction for the university.  something they are reluctant to address,  hell, we've got national tv and games to win here.  they'll learn that other stuff later, but not on our time.  some end up like magic johnson/successful beyond basketball, and others end up like alan iverson

[brandx]

Never understood people's need to denigrate athletes. Does it make them feel better about themselves?

Now, if you want to start a thread titled "Another study finding ignorant humans", I would understand.

But anyone thinking athletes are dumber than the population in general would probably show up among the "ignorant humans" study.

[4everwarriors]

Why denigrate humans? How 'bout a thread denigratin' turtles?

[jesmu84]

Never understood people's need to denigrate athletes. Does it make them feel better about themselves?

Now, if you want to start a thread titled "Another study finding ignorant humans", I would understand.

But anyone thinking athletes are dumber than the population in general would probably show up among the "ignorant humans" study.

I really have 2 issues with this situation. 1. All the money and our seeming priority with athletes (including professionals) as opposed to academics or better investments. 2. The backlash to this researcher simply for pointing out the hypocrisy of the situation. Death threats? really?

I apologize for the wording that may have denigrated others. It just really irks me how society "looks the other way" when it comes to this, because so many people are making money. It's just a symptom of larger problems, ie. societal priorities

[brandx]

I really have 2 issues with this situation. 1. All the money and our seeming priority with athletes (including professionals) as opposed to academics or better investments. 2. The backlash to this researcher simply for pointing out the hypocrisy of the situation. Death threats? really?

I apologize for the wording that may have denigrated others. It just really irks me how society "looks the other way" when it comes to this, because so many people are making money. It's just a symptom of larger problems, ie. societal priorities

I wasn't disagreeing with you. I agree with both of your points.

It was more of a general statement and yes, colleges do accept people who wouldn't qualify otherwise just because they can make money for the school and, yes I agree it is wrong. But that is the world we live in.

And it's always been that way. Reading a book called "One Summer - 1927" by Bill Bryson and it amazed me how similar things were then that we complain about now. Tabloid type journalism was so much more rampant back then than now even with the internet in play now.

[setyoursightsnorth]

Not surprising at all. Really, really sad. And I hope that Marquette wasn't contributing to the statistics, but I know in my heart that they are. The more I think about it, the more I dislike college athletes and college athletics in general. Most of the money, instead of being pumped into education (which is why most go to college in the first place), it is pumped into athletics. Athletes are given so many perks and everything on a silver platter.

Example, it is university protocol that the only excusable absence from class is either for sickness (if validated by a doctor) or for an athletic event. While this varies from teacher to teacher, if someone in my family passes away and I want to pay my last respects, the fact that I may have to beg my teacher and appeal to the school is absolutely ridiculous. But the athletes can go to Hawaii or California and miss a week of class and it's no big deal. They have their own system of tutors that in unavailable for regular students, they are given thousands of dollars of free gear, their own personal chefs. Seeing someone like Denard Robinson at Michigan really bothered me: the kid can't even speak proper English and went to school at a high caliber university like Michigan. But you also have kids like Andrew Luck, who worked his ass of at school and actually put in the work, but he's a minority among athletes. It's looking really bleak and I don't think those statistics will ever change. The fact that spending on athletics is higher than on education for many schools is really bothersome.