Are Coaches Exploiting Our Kids?

Adhim Deaveaux joined me from Mount Vernon, New York on our April 1, 2007 program. Below is a summary of our discussion.

Many coaches are more concerned with money than the welfare of our children. The attitude is to win at all cost. Coaches are more concerned with winning records than they are concerned about the welfare of their players. The stories of several functionally illiterate professional football players were discussed, i.e. Dexter Manley. A discussion pursued on how Dexter Manley and other players achieved their social status, while not being able to read. Our community cherishes the high scorer, though he/she may not be able to read. The dropout rate of several colleges was shared, i.e. Ohio State University has one of the highest dropout rates of any university in the nation. University of Maryland also has a high dropout rate. Solutions: We must “called out” coaches that are not tracking kids grades, and school behavior. Playing sports must be a means to an end. The end is to be properly educated. So what if you make 40 million dollars, but you cannot read nor write. Because this mis-educating begins at an early point in kids lives, parents must be involved in holding the schools (coaches accountable).