Privately-owned and managed “sports academies”–replacements for traditional public and private face-to-face education–is a troubling trend on America’s high school scene.
When schools were closed because of COVID-19, students were taught by ZOOM and other means of distance learning. It was a system of necessity, not a choice. There is much lacking in distance learning, and all of us welcomed the return to in-person schooling.
On February 4, 2022, our local paper in Charlotte, NC, carried two significant front section articles on local basketball academies located in North Carolina. Both articles highlight the decisions made by star basketball players to leave traditional high schools to gain more exposure at schools not governed by the NC State Athletic Association. As one founder of one of the highlighted academies remarked, “They [the state association] don’t get to regulate our games….”
The articles center around six academies, and all the players discussed in the newspaper coverage–both female and male–are Black. The reporters make it clear that the academies enroll a diverse student body, but I can’t find published data about the schools. I have to assume (and hope) that the reporters’ assertion is accurate.
The fact that all of the players profiled are Black wouldn’t be troubling if it weren’t for this reality: the world of athletics is mostly one of institutional racism.
Examine the crowds at American sporting events–basketball and football (college and pro)–and you will see predominantly White crowds watching teams of mostly Black players compete, especially in basketball.
I am not convinced that these so-called academies are another example of White owners using Black athletes for profit.
Don’t get me wrong. I want any young athlete to use their talent to achieve success. I used mine to attend college, and it changed my life. But know that I not only wrestled, I also got a good education. I hope these young people are given–and have–the same opportunity.
All young people–and that very much includes student-athletes–need to develop life skills that will enable them to live a quality life–a life that will be mostly lived after their playing days are over. But I have deep reservations about that being the case at institutions that are created mostly because of and for sports.
