Abuses in Intercollegiate Sports

In class on February 25, 2016 we discussed the abuses that take place mainly in Division I collegiate athletics. These include:

• Illegal recruiting

Katrina Powell, the person in charge of bringing the women to the parties.

• Easy majors/ altering grades and transcripts (academic corruption)
• Exploitation of athletes
• Pressure to win
• Pressure to make money

With the commercialization of intercollegiate sports, many of these abuses have become almost impossible to ignore. Social media and improving technology make athletes and programs much more visible than they used to be in the past. A prime example of this would be the University of Louisville Mens Basketball Program’s recent recruiting violations.

Read More: http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/13927159/former-louisville-cardinals-basketball-players-recruits-acknowledge-stripper-parties-minardi-hall

Russ Smith, one of the most notable players accused of being at the Louisville parties.

In October of 2015, five former University of Louisville basketball players and recruits told Outside the Lines that they had gone to parties at a university dorm room where an assistant coach paid women to have sex with possible recruits and current players. This group of players include Russ Smith, Montrezl Harrell, Peyton Siva, Terry Rozier, Antonio Blakeney, Jordan Mickey, and JaQuan Lyles. According to the allegations, Katrina Powell was in charge of bringing the women to the dorm room and the parties were set up by assistant coach, Andre McGee. Upon reports by Powell, McGee spent upwards of $10,000 per party that was set up. The women would be brought to the dorm room and the player or recruit would pick which women they wanted. McGee would then pay whatever price it cost to give the player or recruit what they wanted. This connects with what we talked about in class because it shows proof of illegal recruiting by giving players and recruits something that most other programs would never offer. Louisville was trying to gain an unfair advantage over other programs. It also shows that they were willing to win at any cost by trying to persuade the recruits that they wanted with sex. The program was feeling the pressure to win and they sought out to seek a way to get recruits by any means necessary.