Generally speaking, it’s difficult to find athletes who are willing to give up parts of their careers to make a principled stance, and that’s understandable.
Who among us is willing to make the great sacrifice of surrendering the finite amount of time a player has on the field and the money that comes with it to fight for the solution to a cause that probably won’t come to fruition until long after their careers are over?
The sports landscape is dotted, but sadly not filled with such figures of courage.
The most recent is Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49er quarterback who unwittingly gave up his career to protect the free speech rights of all who play.
Perhaps the most significant sports stalwart was Curt Flood, an outfielder in the late 60s and early 70s, who challenged baseball rules that insisted that he had to play where he didn’t want to play, even after the club’s contractual control was over.
For that, Flood was bounced from the game, a stain on the national pastime that lingers to this day. The recent chatter that Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame should be replaced with the name of Curt Flood.
Years from now, the name Grant House may come to be thought of in the same way as Flood and Kaepernick.
House is the now former Arizona State swimmer who wondered why he and other college athletes weren’t getting their just payment for the services they rendered beyond a scholarship.
And so he sued the NCAA and its member schools for what he believed he and fellow athletes were entitled to, what they deserved.
The lawsuit, which was joined by Sedona Prince, a basketball player, dragged through the federal court system, landing in the courtroom of Claudia Wilken in Oakland.
Eventually, the NCAA and House reached a settlement, and, starting July 1, colleges and universities will not only have to pay former athletes $2.75 billion, but they’ll also have to compensate current athletes for their time and effort.
This is a remarkable moment in American sports history. The idea of amateurism has essentially been blown to smithereens, and not a moment too soon.
This should have happened long ago and the fact that it took over 100 years since the creation of college athletics is a testament to the efforts of those in power to keep the myth of student-athlete alive.
The fight will go on, and the settlement could turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory for House and other swimmers and college athletes in so-called revenue sports, who may get the short end of the payment stick.
As it happens, House is expected to receive $125-thousand as his part of the settlement. And he hopes to swim in this year’s World Championship and the Olympics in Los Angeles in three years, so some of the analogy with Flood and Kaepernick doesn’t hold up.
Still, Grant House took a risk that should pay off for future generations of athletes. For that, he should be proud and revered.
And that’s how I see it for this week. You can reach us via email with your questions and comments at Sports at Large at gmail.com. And follow me on BlueSky, Threads and X at Sports at Large.
Until next week, for all of us here and for producer Lisa Morgan, I’m Milton Kent. Thanks for listening and enjoy the games.