Sen. Murphy, Green call out ‘systemic racism’ of NCAA in joint op-ed
Draymond Green, who’s never been shy about pointing out what he sees as injustices, is teaming up with U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy in the ongoing battle to reform the NCAA while also intensifying the fight for racial justice.
The Warriors All-Star and the Connecticut Democrat, both of whom see an exploitative nature to college sports, co-authored an op-ed piece published on ESPN.com on Thursday. In it they’re seeking changes to a system in college football and basketball they say enables predominantly white executives, coaches and athletic directors to “profit off the unpaid labor of majority Black players.”
Citing the increased awareness of racial inequality since the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, both Green and Murphy wrote it’s imperative for action now at the college level.
“Many Americans would say that a debate over the future of college athletics can wait, but in fact, it has never been more necessary,” they wrote. “The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others have forced a long-overdue reckoning about the institutions in our society that are built on a foundation of systemic racism.”
Green and Murphy called on the NCAA to immediately soften its stance on not allowing college athletes to profit from their names, images and likenessess.
“In the middle of a pandemic during which some of these athletes’ families have no income, this would be the compassionate step for the NCAA to take,” they wrote. “In the long run, our debate should be framed by a question of what real fairness for college athletes would look like.”
Last year, Murphy released reports he said showed the NCAA treats athletes as “commodities” and said reforming the governing body of collegiate sports is “a civil rights issue.”
Green, the Warriors’ power forward penned his own oped in the Washington Post in October in which he called the NCAA a dictatorship in the way it chose to compensate its athletes.
The senator tweeted his approval of Green’s op-ed and the three-time All-Star soon reached out to connect with Murphy in order to collaborate with him.
“It’s really great,” Murphy told ESPN. “There are not many direct partnerships between athletes and politicians. Hopefully we can present a unique voice on this topic.”