A system of entitlement

A college education.

Whether it be an associates degree or a Ph.D, a college level education is one of the world's most sought after commodities, right after things like food, water, shelter, you know, the small things.

For many people, even in a country like America, the idea of a college education is unattainable, a very distant thought. Some are not motivated to get one, some will never have the opportunity.

The NCAA and all of the Division I and II schools it contains have given countless under-privileged or impoverished high school athletes the ability to play the sport they excel at and receive a free (or discounted) college education while they are at it.

With that sort of offer on the table, it's really no wonder that recruits seem so eager to take scholarship offers. Put yourself in their shoes and you'd probably do it too.

So why then, when so much value and potential is at stake, are some college athletes in such a rush to screw it all up?

It's hardly a new concept. Young, cocky athletes recruited from low income neighborhoods, suddenly treated like kings and queens on a big stage, and the temptations to party and live the high life seem too powerful to ignore. Every year this same situation plays out at a handful of big schools, and an even bigger number of mid-major programs. Oftentimes, it's alcohol or drug related, DUI's, underage partying, possession, etc. Sometimes it's a seemingly innocent snowball fight.

The scenarios vary slightly, the names change, the schools cycle, but the behavior hasn't changed. It's a dizzying parade of poorly disciplined ball players acting out in the stupidest of ways, and the blame lies solely with the lack of recruiting for character and a lack of adequate supervision by university staff.

In a day and age where a debate has been started on whether or not college athletes should be payed, there exists a culture in which some of these athletes are barely respecting the terms of their scholarship, much less deserving additional pay. I myself have no sympathy for scholarship athletes claiming they need to be further compensated. If the promise of a free college education (around $88,000, on average) plus other amenities is not enough to be worth your while, then you have issues beyond the ability of money to fix.

Unfortunately, change is slow in the world of sport, and as long as schools can make more money from an athlete with subpar character than one who is less skilled but with stellar character, they will do it. The tragic reality of the situation is that too many student-athletes don't take the student half of the equation seriously enough.