Pro Athletes Should Be Allowed To Go Back To College But Only After Passing A Billy Madison Accelerated Course To Get Back Into School
Randy J. Williams. Getty Images.There has been much debate lately about whether professional athletes should have the ability to go back to school to finish out their remaining years of NCAA eligibility. It would appear that most people with a rational brain are under the belief that it's an absolutely ludicrous idea, and downright shameful. But the system is so broken, and sometimes you just need to let nature run its course. The NCAA has lost total control of college athletics, and the only way to fix it is to just let it crash and burn to ashes. They have created a system in which an athlete can leave school, sign with multiple NFL organizations during training camp, and then theoretically return back to school to play that fall. The fact that it's even a conversation makes you think maybe the NCAA deserves everything bad thing that could possibly ever happen to them.
And part of me gets it. Guys like Dae'Quan Wright aren't going to be able to make it in the NFL. You have to be so ungodly good at football to keep a roster spot in that league. Maybe he could make some practice squad money for a few years, but it's nothing compared to what he'd be able to get with NIL. We live in a capitalist society, and everybody should be afforded the opportunity to make as much money as they can. So for Dae'Quan Wright, that means going back to school.
It just shouldn't be that easy, though. It should come with immense shame and humiliation. Which is why every professional athlete who opts to go back to play college ball should have to pass through a Billy Madison-inspired course before returning to college. 2 weeks in each grades 1-12 with a test coming at the end of each grade which is streamed on the university's social pages.
1st and 2nd grade are going to be easy. But social studies? Division? This shit is gonna be tough.
This would take care of a lot of different issues all at the same time. For starters, it would take some time. So athletes can't go straight from an NFL training camp to playing with a college team a few days later. Secondly, it introduces the shame factor. It would make the whole thing feel ridiculous, because it is ridiculous. And lastly, it could actually be a little helpful for the athletes. If you're going back to college from the pros, then that means you're clearly not good enough to play at the pro level. Which means sooner or later, you're going to need to find a real job. The one thing about this entire situation that I actually like is that a guy like Dae'Quan Wright can go back to school and get his degree. There aren't many doors open to him at the NFL level right now, but that would help him out in the corporate world.
Combine all those things together and tell me there is a better solution to this current situation the NCAA has found itself in. You can't. Life imitates art, and it's time to bring Billy Madison to real life.