U.S (Color Of Change) : It’s time to change the rules of the NCAA’s exploitative game.

 

 

 

Dear friend,   March Madness—the backbone of the NCAA's billion-dollar empire, built off the labor of Black basketball players—ended for 2021. But it’s not over for us until the exploitation ends. For years, Color Of Change has led groundbreaking campaigns chipping away at the NCAA’s stronghold over Black athletes like our Fair Pay to Play campaign, which opened doors for college players in California to earn income from their names, images, and likenesses. This month, we launched our #PayThePlayers website to give notice to NCAA corporate champions Capital One, Coca-Cola, and AT&T that we won’t let up. These March Madness sponsors, who were quick to make statements in support of racial justice during last summer’s protests, need to take a meaningful step and help end the exploitation of Black college athletes.   We’ve built power by forming coalitions, pushing legislation, and leading research. Now we have a powerful solution to stop the NCAA’s profiteering ! We can bring home a real victory for our college athletes, but we need your support to keep fueling this fire.       Help fund our work to end the exploitation of Black college athletes!           University of Kentucky coach John Calipari will make $8 million dollars this year.1 The president of Abilene Christian revealed the worth of this year’s March Madness to be $120 million for the school.2 And the “nonprofit” behemoth itself, the NCAA, can rake in up to $1 billion dollars in March Madness revenue, while the predominantly Black basketball players who put in all the labor to make the season happen—traveling and playing throughout the pandemic, risking COVID-19 exposure and potential myocarditis—can take home nothing!3,4 The money these players are losing out on is devastating with 86% of them living below the federal poverty level, and less than 3 of every 100 players can hope to make money in the future with a professional sports career.5 This is why we fight !   Dear friend, thank you for being an active Color Of Change member. Our work is sustained by the actions you take. Help us empower our Black college athletes and finally bring the NCAA’s exploitation to an end! Until Justice is real,         The Color Of Change team. References : 1. “NCAA Salaries”, USA Today, March 9, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/297995?t=11&akid=50607%2E1942551%2Er50xII 2. Jack Baer, “Abilene Christian president claims March Madness upset was worth $120 million to school”, Yahoo Sports, March 24, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/301199?t=13&akid=50607%2E1942551%2Er50xII/. 3. Jabari Young, “With $1 billion on the line, March Madness is ready for its comeback,” CNBC, March 16, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/301200?t=15&akid=50607%2E1942551%2Er50xII 4. Eben Novy-Williams, “March Madness Daily : The NCAA’s billion-dollar empire is built on basketball,” Sportico, March 18. 2021,  https://act.colorofchange.org/go/301026?t=17&akid=50607%2E1942551%2Er50xII 5. Ramogi Huma, Ellen Staurowsky, "The Price of Poverty in Big Time College Sport", The National College Players Association, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/301027?t=19&akid=50607%2E1942551%2Er50xII/.

Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change.