Football Gets a Penalty Flag
First, some background
None of us was the mother of gifted athletes. Nonetheless, our kids played sports from a very young age, not because we were in search of an athletic scholarship or a spot in the majors, but because it was the thing to do. Our towns all offered soccer and tee ball, then Little League and Pop Warner football. With the right coaches promoting good sportsmanship and mutual respect, and parents on the sidelines doing the same, sports for our kids were a fine way to spend a Saturday morning or weekday afternoon.
As with so many opportunities, our kids were lucky to have this one. But town sports take money, organization, and a slew of volunteer coaches. We have some very fond memories of our kids’ various coaches – the one who would cajole the kids to run faster or, sometimes, just in the right direction, but then fear he had been too harsh so add “honey” at the end of his encouragement. Or the coach who was fired by the parents because he told the kids to “Just go out there and have fun.” The parents wanted their seven-year-olds to get more, shall we say, instructive instruction! And, of course, the coach who brought a chart to practice each week and kept meticulous track of each child’s time on the field so that everyone got the same number of minutes playing.
So, what’s the takeaway?
Simply put, we see the value in sports for children, when done well. And we wish kids in all neighborhoods, of all economic levels, could have strong town and school athletic programs. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Perhaps even more disturbing, however, is the myth that athletics offers children of color a path out of poverty. It is true, according to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition Science Board, that participating in sports is associated with better health, lower rates of anxiety and depression, lower levels of stress, higher self-esteem and confidence, reduced risk of suicide, less substance abuse, fewer risky behaviors, increased cognitive performance, and increased life satisfaction. These positive effects might help children growing up in poverty feel more hopeful and empowered. And that is all to the good.
What is false and potentially damaging, however, is the unrealistic notion that college athletic scholarships are low hanging fruit and an easy route to higher education, the hallowed fields of professional sports, and wealth.
Less than 2% chance
According to NCSA College Recruiting, a non-profit organization that connects student athletes with college coaches, fewer than 2% of high school athletes get any type of athletic scholarship to college, but most athletic scholarships are not full rides. “Full-rides are typically reserved for revenue sports (D1 basketball and D1-A football for men, D1 basketball, tennis, volleyball and gymnastics for women,” NCSA reports. In fact, according to ncsasports.org, only about one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of all U.S. university athletes receive full funding. This statistic is higher in D1 college football and basketball programs, where Black students represent 44.2% and 53% of the players, respectively.
The likelihood of receiving D1 football scholarships is still very remote. There are only about 125 D1 programs, and each has 85 scholarships available. “That means there are roughly 10,000 scholarship division one football players out there. With roughly 1.5 million high school players, the odds are less than 1%,” according to gobigrecruiting.com. By the way, D2 colleges give primarily partial scholarships and D3 schools give none.
Moreover, athletic scholarships are only guaranteed for a year. "An injury or poor athletic performance can lead to a scholarship being pulled for the fortunate few who receive a scholarship in the first place," certified college financial consultant Danny Cieniewicz told Forbes magazine. College consultant Marc-Andre Alexandre notes that there can be "other costs such as school materials and personal expenses for food, clothing, and experiences” that may not be covered by a student’s athletic scholarship.
With or without scholarships, there are only so many places for good football players. According to sportskeeda.com, “There are 1,093,234 high school football players in the United States, and only 6.5% of those high school players (or 71,060) will play for the NCAA [National Collegiate Athletics Association]” in any division. The rest of them better have a Plan B for college and beyond.
But let’s say a Black quarterback from Roxbury gets offered a full scholarship to a D1 school. Is this his ticket to the NFL? Probably not. According to the NFL itself, 1.6% of all NCAA football players ever make it to the professional level. Luckily, his chances of graduating from college are better than in the past, especially if his school is one of those actually committed to educating its athletes rather than just making money off them. In that case, he may take classes that give him the skills and knowledge needed for the workforce. Hopefully, too, he won’t get injured and lose his scholarship. Or get hit too many times in the head and suffer C.T.E. (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) for the rest of his life. Or be buried with debt because his scholarship didn’t cover a boatload of ancillary expenses, such as books and transportation, food and computers, academic fees and clothes.
At what cost?
An article in the New York Times on November 17 talked about the dangers of playing football for young boys. Citing research at Boston University on the brains of 152 young athletes, the author reported that more than 40 percent (63 of the 152) had C.T.E., the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated hits to the head. “Of the 63, 48 had played football, while others had wrestled or played hockey or soccer. Some had never played beyond high school.” The article concluded that “many C.T.E. researchers recommend that young children play only touch or flag football. Some experts believe tackle football should not start until high school.” By encouraging Black boys to excel at football as a route to wealth, are we encouraging them to harm their brains in the process?
And what about the psychic damage done to Black boys who are told their only value is on the field? Derrick Jackson, in a December 2022 article in the Boston Globe, looked at some of the damage that occurs to Black college athletes once they are on campus. He is most concerned with how “higher education is one of society’s greatest enablers of the stereotype that the only thing a Black man can do is play basketball and football. The stereotype is so profound, it hounds Black men who don’t play ball.” They find others assume they are only on campus because they must be athletes, not eager and achieving academics.
Moreover, “Overall, the top 16 basketball teams graduate only 39 percent of their original Black recruits, compared to 62 percent of original white recruits,” he wrote. “But on average, the top ten football teams this season graduated only 56 percent of their original Black recruits, compared to 84 percent of their original white players.”
The perpetuation of myths
Joseph Cooper, author of “From Exploitation Back to Empowerment: Black Male Holistic (Under) Development Through Sport and (Mis) Education,” expounded on this theme in a 2018 opinion piece in UConn Today. Referring to the causes of the death of a college football player, he wrote,“[I]t is a long-standing and deadly stereotype in American society that views black males as subhuman and superhuman all at once. This stereotype, which is complex and has many layers, holds that black male athletes have superior athletic abilities that enable them to excel at high levels in sports such as football. The stereotype also holds that black males have a distinct physicality that allows them to endure extreme amounts of pain.”
“This is the same myth that was used to justify the enslavement and mistreatment of black people in America from before the Civil War through today’s era of mass incarceration,” Cooper wrote.”In fact, a case can be made that there are many parallels between the exploitation of black student-athletes today and how black labor was exploited during American slavery.”
What becomes a perpetuation of stereotypes, institutional racism, negative self-perceptions for black male athletes, then, is the dumb jock trope which gets reinforced by the fact that Black athletes “are more likely to be admitted to college academically underprepared, more likely to be enrolled in perceived ‘easy’ or less rigorous courses so that they can remain eligible to play sports, and less likely to graduate compared to their peers.”
The NCAA is more than collusive in promoting the illusion behind the myth of athletics as the road out of poverty. Presenting in 2020 at the Rutgers Undergraduate Research Writing Conference, Ethan Nguyen said, “Utilizing this plight of these black kids from poor neighborhoods, the NCAA sets up its ‘societal bait’ which lures them into playing sports for their institution. The ‘societal bait’ is what allows the NCAA to continually receive a steady inflow of Black male athletes each year…The bait works effectively because the plight of African Americans kindles the desire to pursue sports. The NCAA recognizes that these kids from impoverished black neighborhoods grew up in a setting where playing sports was a very popular hobby. Not only is it a simple pleasure, but portrayal by the sports media of African Americans excelling in professional leagues and making millions of dollars inspired them. These black athletes became beacons of hope for the black youth to one day make it out of the poverty cycle.”
He goes on. “The opportunity of a college education and a shot at the professional league is hard to pass up, especially when the black youth is stagnant in their poverty-stricken situation. Many black athletes agree to play college athletics not only for themselves but for their families and communities so one day, they can all escape poverty.”
Aspiring to be a college or professional athlete may work out for a very small segment of our youth. The rest will need other skills and opportunities to achieve lives of plenty, unless they were born with the proverbial silver spoons in their mouths. We owe our children of color living in underrepresented communities quality schools that prepare them to succeed in college and beyond; sports programs that instill confidence, sportsmanship, and self-discipline; college counseling and financial aid for college; job training; and a host of other tools to access the good life. What they don’t need is unrealistic dreams of a D1 college career and the major leagues – dreams that will elude most of them, and physically and psychologically damage many of them who get what they thought they wanted.
It’s important to know the truth about how Black children are duped about sports as their way out of poverty. During this season of giving, let’s support programs that offer young people other tools for success. Some of our area favorites are REAL in Lynn, Raw Art Works, More Than Words, Girls Inc, Esperanza Academy, Big Sister Boston, Dream Big, Good Sports, 826 Boston, SquashBusters, Big Brothers, and your local YMCAs. Share some others with us, please!
Best,
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)