Last Saturday, a college basketball player from the University of Wisconsin, Nigel Hayes, decided to make a statement on the state of college athletics, and specifically how athletes are not allowed to be paid per NCAA rules.
By doing so, he jump-started a conversation that has taken place for years, and one that has definite racial overtones and consequences for those on both sides of the issue.
Hayes, the star of the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team (and likely a first round pick in 2017’s NBA draft), protested with a poster at a taping of ESPN’s College Gameday on the Madison campus. The poster (seen above) included a Venmo username which viewers were encouraged to send money to. Since Hayes is a college athlete and would therefore be in violation of NCAA rules if he kept the money to himself, he elected to donate whatever he received to a local Boys and Girls’ Club. Hayes raised $700 through his protest, but that’s not where the story ends.
Through the week, Hayes has used his Twitter account (@NIGEL_HAYES) for further discourse on the topic.
Hayes has received support and backlash throughout the week, from those in sports media:
From other athletes, collegiate and professional:
And from others from all walks of life. Something that makes Hayes speaking out more significant is that this is not the first time he has used his platform for social issues. He has been outspoken on such social issues as #BlackLivesMatter and police brutality. In an interview with The Undefeated, he cited The Autobiography of Malcolm X as a major influence in his life and also spoke about how he empathized and agreed with Colin Kaepernick’s recent protests of the American flag.
While there has been some deviance from this point, a quick Twitter search of Haynes name on Twitter will show a pattern of who supports his stance and who take umbrage with it. Hayes’ supporters (such as the aforementioned Maurice Clarett) happen to be largely black or members of a minority group, and his detractors (like Fran Fraschilla and Doug Gottlieb) are mostly white.
A poll done in 2014 by the National Labor Relations board seems to support this pattern. The poll found that the majority of people of color felt that college athletes should be paid (51% said they agreed when asked), as opposed to 24% of whites who agreed. 66% of people of color felt that athletes should be able to form unions, while 56% of whites disagreed.
Nigel Hayes is not the first college athlete to pose this question or take this stand, and he will certainly not be the last. It remains to be seen whether or not his ideal will come to be a reality, but the conversation will remain a constant one as long as the current system is in place.
Black and White? : Race & Social Media 