We are educators, coaches, parents, athletes, lawyers, and advocates writing to address your role in the $15 billion college sports industry, which is troubled by educational deficiencies, health and safety neglect, racial injustice, and economic inequities. On the eve of the NCAA’s men’s and women’s basketball championships, we are asking the NCAA’s corporate sponsors, like you, “Where do you stand?” Our question respectfully challenges your company to demonstrate support for the NCAA athletes who risk their health and safety to promote your brands, rather than turning a blind eye to the pressing racial, economic, and educational inequities resulting from the policies and practices of the NCAA and its member institutions. 

Our forthcoming press release and social media efforts surrounding the NCAA basketball tournaments will seek urgent public attention to the need for college sports reform and also commend NCAA sponsors who acknowledge the need for meaningful change on behalf of college athletes.  Our campaign will invite public resistance and coordinated boycotts of NCAA sponsors that fail to acknowledge the social, educational, racial, and economic injustices illustrated below, especially when making sponsorship decisions.

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WHERE DO YOU STAND?

The NCAA men's and women's basketball championships are sponsored by over a dozen corporate brands (listed below) that pump money into the multibillion-dollar college sports industry.  They profit from the talented athletes who sacrifice their health and safety for our entertainment without making a sufficient commitment to address the glaring inequities and deficiencies outlined below.

In this historic moment of social change, we are asking these brands, "Where do you stand?" on the pressing issues in college sports.  Our campaign will invite public resistance and coordinated boycotts of NCAA sponsors that fail to acknowledge the social, educational, racial, and economic injustices illustrated below, especially when making sponsorship decisions.  We've asked them to sign this petition and share the link on their social media channels.  We will provide updates to supporters on whether the brands rise to the challenge and stand with the athletes in this critical moment or instead, ignore these ongoing inequities.

As consumers, we have tremendous power to vote with our dollars, views, clicks, likes, and other engagements with these brands.  We will share tools with the supporters of this petition to make that power evident to these companies if they are uncertain where they stand.  Collectively, let's encourage the brands listed below to help push for meaningful change in college sports.

By signing below, I support the dedicated college athletes participating in the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball championships.  I also recognize the need for meaningful change in the multibillion-dollar college sports industry, which is troubled by educational deficiencies, health and safety neglect, racial injustice, and economic inequities.  I stand with athletes and proudly raise my voice to challenge the NCAA, its member institutions, and their corporate sponsors to address the systemic issues illustrated below:

·      Less than 3% of undergraduates at the 65 schools in the “power conferences” are Black men, but they constitute 55% of football players and 56% of men’s basketball athletes at those schools.

·      A vast majority of these athletes live at or below the poverty line despite the fact that they are the stars of a multibillion-dollar entertainment industry.

·      Contrary to the belief that athletes are given a free education, college athletes are often placed into less-challenging courses and academic majors to keep them eligible in the best interests of their schools and coaches.  Athletes devote 40-50 hours per week on their sports and are forced to prioritize sports over school, including for the purpose of showcasing their talents on TV late at night during the week, regardless of academic obligations.

·      Black basketball and football players graduate at 37% and 22% lower, respectfully, than the undergraduate population.  Less than 3% of these athletes go on to have a professional sports career.

·      College athletes do not have guaranteed access to independent medical care or the right to a second medical opinion.  Almost three out of five collegiate athletic trainers reported pressure from an administrator or coach to make a medical decision that was not in the best interest of a college athlete’s health.  The NCAA has failed to implement comprehensive and enforceable health and safety regulations.

·      In 40 out of 50 states, the highest-paid public employee is a college football or college basketball coach, all of whom are employed by a tax-exempt higher education institution.  At least 69 college basketball coaches and 82 college football coaches earn $1 million or more annually.  Even coaches in other sports, including baseball and softball, now make up to $1 million.

·      There are many great college coaches and administrators, but athletics staff have repeatedly been found responsible for the verbal, sexual, and psychological abuse of college athletes without NCAA intervention or regulation.  Attempts have been made to cover up abusive practices to preserve the athletics reputation and recruiting efforts of the school.  Coaches regularly run athletes off their teams, thereby jeopardizing their financial aid opportunities and chances at reaching graduation.

·      College athletes are denied the ability to transfer schools without risking the loss of their scholarship and future academic and athletic opportunities.  Meanwhile, coaches move freely from school-to-school chasing their next multimillion-dollar contract, even after engaging in reprehensible behavior in the higher education environment.

·      College athletes are decorated in corporate logos to promote commercial brands, which fairly support college athletic programs, but are unfairly denied the ability to use their own name, image, and likeness to earn money.

·      The NCAA and its member schools falsely cry “poor” and threaten to discontinue women’s sports and Olympic sports while recklessly spending money to keep up with recruiting and facility battles among rival schools. This money is not spent to afford the most opportunities to the most athletes nor to protect nor promote female athletic participation.  The spending in college sports is inconsistent with the values of higher education.

·      Among Division I schools, 79% of university athletic directors, 82% of football head coaches, and 69% of men’s basketball head coaches are white.  Similar racial imbalances exist throughout college sports.

·      College athletes have no independent representation or voice within the college sports system to adequately address these issues, combat mistreatment, or fight for due process.

There are many brave athletes who are starting to speak up for change.  We stand with them and speak out in their support because we know they and their parents often fear losing an athletic scholarship, a starting position, or being labeled troublemakers.  We also lend our voices to this cause because, embarrassingly, this unfair system only changes when forced to do so by outside influences.  College sports is a good thing, but the NCAA and our higher education institutions must do better.  That’s where we stand and we hope you will join us.

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We hope that you recognize the serious issues and injustices at play in college sports and join us in pushing urgently for meaningful reform.  The NCAA, its member institutions, and their corporate sponsors must share in the accountability for the health, safety, well-being, education, equality, and individual rights of college athletes across the nation.  We hope you agree and look forward to gaining your support.

Sincerely,

 

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Athletes & Advocates for Social Justice in Sports

The College Athlete Advocacy Initiative

The Drake Group

It's Bigger Than the Ball

The T. Alexander Foundation