The Battle Royal

In Ralph Ellison's 1952 short story, The Battle Royal, a young black high school graduate is invited to give a speech before the old white men in his local Southern community. He is understandably excited and prepares to give the greatest speech he could possibly deliver. When he arrived at the host's house, he was shuffled back into a smokey back room, filled with old drunken white men, a few naked women and eight other young blacks. There was a boxing ring. He was told that, in order to give his speech, he would have to fight the other black boys in a bare knuckled, bloody, vicious brawl, nearly to the death. And he would have to do it blindfolded. The young man wanted to give his speech. He wanted to perform to give voice to other young men. He wanted to live up to his grandfather's expectations. So he got in the ring and he fought. He fought until he didn't know the difference between his blood and his sweat. He fought, keeping the ultimate goal in mind, and he fought to entertain the rich white men who had commissioned the event.

The winner received a calf-skin briefcase and a scholarship to the "negro university."

Todd Gurley is a football player for the University of Georgia. He is perhaps the best to ever play at the running back position. Watching him is a delight, even for fans of the opposing team. Every week he risks injury, health, and concussion. He fights fear and self-doubt, all to entertain us, and maybe make it to that next level. Now, his collegiate football career is probably over because he took about $400 to sign some autographs. Under the arcane, absurd rules of the NCAA (the governing body for collegiate sports), Mr. Gurley forfeited his "amateur status" by taking the money.

Todd Gurley didn't rape anyone, he didn't punch out his wife or girlfriend in an elevator. He didn't steal the $400. He signed some autographs. The NCAA, for its part, made $912.8 million, yes, million dollars off of student athletes last year. There is precious little information about how much of that nearly one billion dollars the NCAA gives to charity. It is not much. The University of Georgia makes about $20 million a year off of football ticket and concession sales. It is projected to make another $9.4 million this year off of television revenue. None of this takes into consideration the jersey sales, pictures and soft money raised from using the names and likenesses of its football players. And Georgia is no different than any other large university.

The conferences make money too. The Southeastern Conference made $242 million last year, distributed to each of its 14 university members. Mike Slive, the Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference raked in $1.6 million just under the terms of his employment contract. 

Todd Gurley made $400.

Of course, what would Saturday be without the sponsors. We have the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, The Fed Ex Orange Bowl, The Allstate Sugar Bowl. There is no shortage of commercial enterprises who are lined up to place their ads in the middle of football games featuring entertainers who are not paid, who are not allowed to profit from their own name or likeness and who are, in fact, banned from the sport when they do.

Todd Gurley made $400. He probably made millions for the sponsors. He likely made millions for the University and the Southeastern Conference. He is, by all accounts, a good young man who doesn't use drugs, doesn't abuse women, doesn't get in bar fights and loves his mother. He doesn't use foul language in the lunch hall and he has never been accused of any other misconduct. Nevertheless, his career in college is over.

I am not a guy that buys into racial politics. I am a civil rights lawyer, but I defend more cases than I pursue. Nevertheless, I know exploitation when I see it, and so do you. In college football, nothing has changed since 1952 and it is offensive. These boys are put in the ring and told to fight for the entertainment of others. An elite group of rich white men reap the lion's share of the profit from it, and they treat these kids like chattel. When one gets out of line and starts dipping his beak in their trough, they burry him. We've seen it year after year. A poor kid, coming from nothing, takes a pair of sneakers from a booster and can't play football anymore. Maybe he goes pro, maybe not. But he is done with college football.

We are past the point in our society where we should allow this kind of caprice in the treatment of young men who are routinely being exploited for our entertainment. Men make mistakes in life. It is part of growing up and part of growing into a real man. Young men make more mistakes than older men because they are young. I can promise you that I've made many more mistakes and worse mistakes in my life than Todd Gurley just did. So have most people. But in Todd Gurley's case it is different. It is about the money. Had he stolen the $400, it likely would not have been an NCAA infraction. Think about that. It is that he "stole" their money. They want the monopoly on Todd Gurley's name and likeness. They have no intention of sharing it with Todd.

So Todd doesn't get to keep his scholarship. While entertaining, he didn't stay in the ring long enough to win the calf-skin briefcase. Maybe he should've followed the rules. Maybe he should've just finished the fight. Maybe he should've just kept his head down and played their game for a little longer.

Or maybe he's right. It's his signature. It's his name. It's his hard work, sweat, blood, swollen knees and ankles. Maybe it's his right and he should fight for it.