LeBron James takes shot at “corrupt” NCAA; calls for better G-League

The NCAA has been dealing with many different scandals around the nation lately.

Many top-tier colleges have had their dirty laundry aired out to the press by the FBI. The biggest issues throughout this process have been the payments players have been receiving illegally, under current NCAA regulations.

Now, the debate around every sports circle is whether or not these players should be paid by their schools or not.

There have been many theories bouncing around lately over this subject. Making it like a free agent setting where the player could go play for the highest bidder, getting rid of the one-year minimum that must be played in college before becoming NBA eligible, expanding the already growing G-League, etc.

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James was asked to give his opinion over the recent scandals the NCAA has been dealing with. James had a blunt but critical assessment, calling the NCAA a “corrupt” organization.

He also went in depth over the solutions he thought would help benefit the NBA ready kids who don’t want to go through the NCAA to get there. When LeBron joined the league in 2003, he himself had never gone to college, but the rules have changed since then.

James has two sons of his own that will one day look toward the NBA.

”I don’t know if there’s any fixing the NCAA. I don’t think there is,” James said. “It’s what’s been going on for many, many, many, many years. I don’t know how you can fix it. I don’t see how you can fix it.”

James continued, saying “I do know what five-star athletes bring to a campus, both in basketball and football. I know how much these college coaches get paid. I know how much these colleges are gaining off these kids. ... I’ve always heard the narrative that they get a free education, but you guys are not bringing me on campus to get an education, you guys are bringing me on it to help you get to a Final Four or to a national championship, so it’s just a weird thing.”

”I’m not a fan of the NCAA,” James said. “I love watching March Madness. I think that’s incredible. I’m not a fan of how the kids don’t benefit from none of this, so it’s kind of a fine line and I’ve got a couple boys that could be headed in that direction, so there’s going to be some decisions that we as a family have to make.

“But I know, as the NBA, we have to figure out a way that we can shore up our farm league, and if kids feel like they don’t want to be a part of that NCAA program, then we have something here for them to be able to jump back on and not have to worry about going overseas all the time, I guess. We have to figure that out, but kids getting paid is nothing new under the sun.”

James main idea (expanding the NBA G-League) is a popular idea around big name stars. They have seen first hand what players can get from being around talents like that while also being compensated for their play. For those of you who don’t know, the G-League was founded back in 2001 and now includes 26 teams, with an expansion to 27 planned for the 2018-19 season. Each team is affiliated with an NBA team as well.

I personally don’t know the exact fix for this situation, but what I do know is that the NCAA has roughly $1 billion in average annual revenue and its stars don’t see a dime.

Look at the money the schools, the coaches, and the NCAA receive on the backs of these players. There is no reason college players in sports like football and basketball that bring their schools TV deals, ticket sales, and massive memorabilia should not be receiving compensation for their hard work.

Hopefully, the NCAA resolves this issue or the professional leagues take matters into their own hands.