By: Salena Braye-Bulls (’23), Staff Writer
Amongst all of the fanfare and sportsmanship, it may be easy to forget that American college sports are a billion-dollar industry. Universities, like UNC, pump tons of money into their athletic programs, and reasonably so. These dollars fund scholarships for all students, bolster campus culture, and allow for better facilities at-large. Still, just like most other American industries, its negative impacts disproportionately affect Black people. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted this startling truth. College campuses have become hotbeds of virus activity, and continuing to have sports for this school year puts Black students and their communities at a greater risk. According to the CDC, 36% of reported deaths from COVID-19 are Black people who are 18 to 29, and there’s no sort of genetic predisposition that is contributing to this figure. Structural racism is to blame, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is exacerbating existing disparities.
Football is a prime example of these institutions’ negligence. Across the Power Five conferences of college football (this includes the ACC, SEC, and Pac-12), NCAA data shows that Black athletes comprise the largest demographic at 46% of players. While there are initiatives in place to keep athletes in social bubbles, only so much can be prevented. Football is an extremely aerobic sport with major potential for virus transmission, and athletes – if they test positive for COVID – are likely to bring it back to their families, friends, and community members. This is extremely concerning, as Black people are more likely to be essential workers, have less access to healthcare, and be hospitalized. Many of these football players come from underserved areas and athletic opportunity may be a path to upward mobility for them. Unfortunately, this same opportunity is negatively affecting Black players’ and their loved ones’ health outcomes during this pandemic.
It is worth noting that players still want to play their sports this semester, and justifiably so. They love the experience of playing, and college sports are great for national morale. Still, institutions should do their best to protect their athletes from additional hardship by listening to their safety concerns and protecting their scholarships. Nick Saban and Mack Brown can champion their training facilities’ sterilization and cleaning techniques all they want, but their words don’t stop the negative repercussions that plague local communities. Coaches aren’t the only contributors to this perfect storm of inequality and perverse financial incentives, though. It is all too obvious that many sports fans would rather wear their favorite players’ jerseys at tailgates than acknowledge that they’re complicit in the downfall of Black communities’ public health. Further, the NCAA’s complacency regarding this situation signals that they do not care about Black lives, but rather the profit that they gain from Black athletes’ hard work and passion. I, as a native Alabamian, understand the cultural significance of college football, but I also believe that saving people’s lives is infinitely more significant.
Sources
36% statistic: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#demographics
46% statistic: http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/ncaa-demographics-database
