I'm not a huge fan of the "vast intellect" of Charles Barkley. In fact, I usually turn the volume down when he's talking. All the while, I have to admit that I am one of those people who sometimes finds myself admiring Barkley's candid nature. He's the man willing to say the things that other people won't, and he's usually pretty honest about it. As someone who monitors the status, actions and treatment of black athletes in America, I've paid careful attention to Sir Charles for quite a while.

The world was fed a healthy dose of that Barkley honesty recently when Sir Charles decided to admit that he took money from sports agents in college. He didn't actually say that he took the money and kept it, he just said that he borrowed some money and paid it back when he got to the NBA.

"I got money from agents when I was in college," Barkley said. "Most of the players I know borrow money from agents."

Barkley went on to describe the money he received as "chump change," but explained that this practice has been going on for a very long time.

"Let me tell you something, these agents are well known, and they've been giving kids money for 30 years, and I have no problem with it. Borrowing money from an agent ain't the same as a college paying you."

What Charles Barkley is making reference to is the natural black market that develops when you artificially restrict the supply and pricing of a valuable resource. Basically, college athletes are multi-million dollar commodities. They deserve to be paid and they should be paid well. The NCAA earns as much money as every other professional sports league, but they have the luxury of not having to pay their sources of labor with anything more than a scholarship.

Yes, the system is racist, since most of the people making money from this system are white and those being exploited are predominantly black. But you've heard me say this before, so I won't repeat the argument. The interesting point being made by Sir Charles is that star athletes are effectively being supported through their family financial problems by a black market, and that this black market is just. To some extent, agents loaning money to college athletes are similar to those who provided the Underground Railroad during slavery. While the NCAA is certainly not as corrupt and destructive as the institution of slavery, there is a similarity in the sense that in both cases, those who were breaking the rules had the moral high ground over those who supported an exploitative system.

During slavery, we could easily say that anyone encouraging a slave to leave the plantation was hurting the slave. Such individuals were demonized and the world was convinced that they were bad people for breaking the law. At the same time, we all know that it was wrong for slaves to remain uncompensated for their labor. Most of us understand fully that men like Charles Barkley and Reggie Bush were worth far more to their universities than the coaches, athletic directors and others getting paid off their labor. So, there's nothing wrong with them obtaining money for their ability, even if they violate the artificially created NCAA regulations in the first place.

I am glad that Barkley's words, and Reggie Bush's decision to give back the Heisman are bringing this issue into the domain of public discussion. Anyone with a black athlete in their family should be concerned about this system, largely because the NCAA is responsible for extracting roughly one billion dollars per year from the black community. In a nation where black family wealth levels are far lower than whites, black unemployment is nearly double that of whites, and black families are experiencing the brunt of bankruptcies, foreclosures and economic devastation on a level that the rest of the nation will never understand, it is important that our multi-billion dollar athletes and their families be paid. Congress has the power to change this, and with each passing day, I pray that they do what is right.

Until Congress does what is right for black athletes and their families, we'll just have to rely on the Underground Railroad. You can't blame Charles Barkley for speaking the truth when the rest of us are committed to the lie. College athletes deserve to be paid and criminalizing them for getting a small piece of what they deserve is simply unethical.

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.