I graduated from the University of Kentucky. Most of my black classmates from the 1990s have a scar on their heart from the racism experienced on that campus and the broken promises that the university made. In the early 1990s, the president made a series of public commitments about increasing the presence of black faculty, with almost none of those promises being kept nearly 20 years later.
Apparently, breaking promises is also something that they do on the basketball court, where black men are used up like dishrags and spit out in to the street.
An episode of ESPN "Outside the Lines" is due to air this week, featuring the massive roster changes of the University of Kentucky basketball team after the arrival of their coach, John Calipari. Mind you, the NCAA is the first to tell you that they are all about education, yet Kentucky pays John Calipari millions in spite of the fact that his graduation rates have been abysmal. Additionally, Calipari has been found guilty of a long list of NCAA violations, which consistently jeopardize the academic futures of the athletes with whom he works.
This is what the University of Kentucky appears to be all about.
Here are some quotes from individuals involved in the ESPN episode, set to air this week. In the conversation, former players describe how Calipari brought them in to his office and pressured them in to leaving the university:
"It hurt because I abided by the rules. I did everything I was supposed to. ... Kept up a good GPA, went to class every day, didn't fail any tests. .... I feel like just for following my part of the contract, they should follow theirs." - Matt Pilgrim, forward, on feeling pressured to leave the UK.
"He was very clear and very honest that (some) may not fit this dribble-drive approach. ... It's a decision that they jointly made, that they might find more playing time elsewhere." - Dr. Lee Todd Jr., president of the University of Kentucky, on what Calipari told players who eventually left.
Amazing, so even the president of the university is justifying a warped decision to convince a student to switch colleges because of the basketball team?
"If you talk to the average scholarship athlete, they believe they're on a four-year scholarship or maybe a five-year scholarship. .... But the reality is, there's no such thing as a four- or- five-year scholarship. There's only a one-year renewable." - Ramogi Huma, head of an advocacy group that lobbies the NCAA and government on behalf of athletes.
Here's the deal: The NCAA doesn't care about it's athletes, and neither does the University of Kentucky. Athletes in revenue-generating sports (most of them black) are used on the field, have their labor rights stripped from them and are then left with a mediocre education that comes from being asked to spend more time on the basketball court than in the classroom. This incident with Calipari is yet another example of the massive contradiction inherent in NCAA sports. It's time to have a congressional hearing.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and The Athlete Liberation and Academic Reform Movement (ALARM). To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
Comments: (110)
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By: Evelyn on 1/07/2010 11:32AM
You see it every day and Kentucky isn't the only one!
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By: Dr. Anthony Huff on 1/07/2010 12:48PM
You are impugning the integrity of a man with defamatory allegations that are categorically false! You should retract the comment regarding John Calipari being found guilty of NCAA violations. The fact is that Calipari has NEVER been accused of violating a single, NCAA regulation or bylaw. That is a fact. The NCAA gave Calipari a clean bill of health before Kentucky would even consider hiring the man. The NCAA clearly stated in their letter of response to the University of Kentucky's inquiry that "Coach Calipari has not only never been found guilty of any infractions, he has not been accused of any." That is pretty clear and concise to me. If Calipari weren't the better man, he could have a very good defamation case against you for stating untruths as facts.
As for the rest of your piece, I actually dislike that colleges can abandon players as easily as they can. I also dislike that players can abandon their side of the deal by leaving their teams and teammates in the lurch while jumping to the NBA and multi-million dollar paydays. Maybe a rule should be made that would require both colleges AND players to honor their commitments to one another. Bet you wouldn't be for that, would you?
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By: R Buskirk on 1/08/2010 2:44PM
Calipari is as shady as they come. He will eventually leave Kentucky in the same mess as he has left every other school he has ever coached. Here is some excellent reading: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/4063/william-wesley-tyreke-evans-john-calipari-and-memphis
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By: babybull33 on 1/08/2010 4:13PM
I agree with you. It should be binding on both sides. A student can't cry foul if asked to leave, while another goes pro after his freshman or sophmore year. It is four or five year contract. You can't boot them and they are not allowed to go pro early. Only fair A full ride is worth a lot these days.
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By: He's not a real doctor on 1/08/2010 4:26PM
Anthony, why do you insist on putting Dr. in front of your name? You're not a real doctor. Just because someone conferred a doctoral degree on you doesn't mean you have to be a dbag and refer to yourself as doctor everywhere you go. It's all over every one of your blog postings, for goodness sakes. Should we also call you maestro, a la the Seinfeld character? None of us are impressed, so drop the schtick.
Back to the topic, Calipari has been shady going all the way back to UMass. When the heat gets turned up, he moves on and leaves a mess in his wake. Grow up and stop defending someone who abuses an already faulty system for their own gain, at the expense of student athletes.
It's all good though, as long as he's winning at your alma mater, right? Make sure you celebrate that final four quickly if/when it comes, because 3 or 4 years later it's going to be vacated by the NCAA.
Calipari will probably be coaching the Nets by then, so he won't really care how he left your program or the student athletes he tossed aside.
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By: kay smith on 1/08/2010 5:47PM
While Calipari may never have been fined, he has left programs just one step ahead of the NCAA. And that, my friend, is also a FACT!
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By: tom on 1/08/2010 5:57PM
WTF? I hope these coments are bad joke!
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By: Linda Miller on 1/08/2010 6:38PM
Let's be realistic here boys and girls. These "used" athletes could give a hoot about going to class or progressing academically. It's all about the potential " green". Calapari owes them nothing. I know my daughter would love to go to college for free.
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By: gamay9 on 1/08/2010 6:49PM
He's not a real doctor: You are correct - he should use 'Anthony Huff, PHD.'
On the topic, I would recruit out of high school and field a good NBA team. These uneducated, immoral punks would play well for me and eventually retire broke. Then I would hire them as my butler or gardener, completely negating the college experience. It's a lot safer; too many collegiate coaches and administrators get in trouble throug unfounded gossip.
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By: Jim on 1/08/2010 7:55PM
Good retort, but you appear not to have read the piece carefully. The author stated that he's guilty of NCAA violations post arrival and not before he arrived at University of Kentucky. So, any 'clean bill' that he might have received by the NCAA prior to having arrived doesn't matter. Also, colleges are supposed to follow NCAA rules that athletics are secondary to an education!
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