During a Q&A session with media on Tuesday, Carmelo Anthonytold reporters that the NCAA and amateur sports have been "corrupt" for awhile now, which mirrored sentiments LeBron James also expressed on Tuesday. Anthony further said that he'd love to be an advocate for college players and have a sit-down with the NCAA to come to some sort of a compromise that both the athletes and the governing body could be happy with.
He remarked:
"I think it has to be a collective effort between NCAA, NBA — just basketball as a whole. NCAA and amateur sports have been corrupt for so long. We all know that. Whether you get caught doing it or not, it is what it is. But that’s beside the point. I think college basketball players — college athletes, period — should be compensated. You have to think about a 16-year-old kid, 17-year-old kid going to college. Yeah, they get a free education if they get a scholarship. But how are they surviving on those campuses? A lot of them can’t afford food. They’re getting in trouble for taking $10 or $20. A friend or a family member can’t give them money. It’s so many smalls things that go along with that. I just wish and hope and pray that something happens.
“I would love to sit down with the NCAA just to hear — no, I’m serious. Just hear about their thought process behind this and what they’re thinking. What’s the future? I’m all for the athletes. I think we need to figure something out for college as a whole.”
Anthony spent a single season in college, back in 2002-03, during which he led Syracuse to a national championship.
The renewed interest in the debate of college athletes getting paid has been sparked by a news report from Yahoo that dropped this past Friday detailing corruption in college basketball and the related FBI investigation that's currently ongoing.
