<p>Just because the suits at Shawnee Mission, Kansas say it’s wrong doesn’t mean it’s a breach of ethics. I think this situation with the “hostesses” is improper but not all NCAA violations have gravitas or give me concern. For example, I thought the NCAA was silly to sanction (minor, I’ll admit) Utah basketball coach Rick Majerus for buying an athlete what I understood to be a fairly ordinary hamburger and fries dinner.</p>
<p>^^That was not the NCAA’s finest hour. The kid’s family member had died and since he was a scholarship player and the family was dirt poor, he could not afford to go home for the service. To console him, Majerus sat with him for hours and talked. Meal time came and they ordered 'burgs, cokes and fries. Majerus paid the tab. Oops, big time hand-slap. [Note, he was a current student…]</p>
<p>Today’s Times quotes a HS coach complaining that the Tennessee hostesses kept brushing their breasts against his son. I did not think college sports could get more tawdry than it has long been, but this exploitaiton of women is vile. Do they have male hosts for women recruits?</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>That wasn’t an ad campaign. It was a book - a memoir written by two former flight attendants, recalling the days when being a flight attendant was regarded as sexy, exciting, and glamorous. Today it is anything but. The book was later made into a a TV movie starring Karen Valentine.</p>
<p>But airlines marketing the attractiveness of their flight attendants certainly happened and continues at some level to this day. Singapore Airlines still has “Singapore Girl” ads.</p>
<p>
And it’s not just women who are being exploited here, either. The idea that you can get young men to make major life decisions by making them horny does not exactly ooze respect for them as human beings.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Actually, it’s not just Singapore Airline. Try any of the airlines based in Asia: Korea Air, Japan Air, Thai Air, etc. They all pimp their female flight attendants out shamelessly. It correlates with the surrounding culture: this is a region where women are still considered subservient to men to a much greater degree than they are in the Western culture, while they are still allowed to work and operate in society openly (not like some part of the Middle Eastern region where they are not even let out).</p>
<p>they’re recruiting athletes… what else are they going to impress them with, the math department?</p>
<p>If I were an athlete, I would be mighty insulted by the above statement.</p>
<p>If you were an athlete, you wouldn’t have gotten the point. :p</p>
<p>Yes Sstory, that’s an unjstified slam against college athletes.</p>
<p>Sstory: Sounds like you do not know too many collegiate athletes. The majority care a great deal about their ability to earn a degree. If they didn’t, they could run off to Europe or elsewhere and play their sport for a salary right out of high school.</p>
<p>Sstory: your comment shows your immaturity. </p>
<p>Just like most college athletes, my son is a student first. Enjoying the chance to compete at a college level is second. He attends a Division I school in the SEC. </p>
<p>BTW, my son has a 4.0+ Math major. He does NOT get any athletic scholarship money nor does he get a book allowance. During his first year, he was still REQUIRED to attend eight hours per week of MANDATORY study hall. After his first semester grades confirmed he made the transition from HS to college course work, his study hall time was used to tutor other athletes. Other than the “issued” clothing items, my son has not received any special treatment.</p>
<p>The term “exploitation” is bandied about far too frequently these days, so much so that it has become routine “PC speak” and thus ignored. The constant harping and breast beating about supposed and ubiquitous female victimization has become as tiresome as it is predictable. </p>
<p>If you don’t like something you are free not to participate, but don’t seek to inflict your personal sensibilities upon others.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Let me guess your son was not a top recruit for a money sport.</p>
<p>There are College Athletes and College Athletes . . . many are like the poster’s son - kids interested in an education and like to play a sport; some want to prepare to play professionally and being in college is just a means to an end. There is a BIG difference in these 2 populations.</p>
<p>And the young women in question cater to the 2nd category. It’s blatant and, in my opinion, repulsive. </p>
<p>My prior university had a squad of these girls (my current one probably does as well, I just haven’t seen it) and when I attended my first football game, in the program there was a lovely centerfold spread of these fine young women - dressed like prostitutes! I mentioned to a highly-placed administrator sitting next to me that if it’s necessary to have a squad of such girls, perhaps it would be more appropriate if they wore jeans or skirts and sweaters. He chuckled and told me they did a nice job convincing recruits to come to our fine university. I wanted to throw up!!</p>
<p>re post #33: The term “PC” is bandied about far too frequently these days, so much so that it has become routine and thus ignored. The constant harping and breast beating about political correctness has become as tiresome as it is predictable.</p>
<p>And folks, I could be wrong, but I do believe sstory’s tongue was in his cheek…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Don’t be so quick. The #2 vote receiver for the Heisman is taking 21 units this quarter at Stanford… (Of course, maybe if he was taking a slacker schedule, he mighta won!)</p>
<p>Craig Krenzel, an outstanding player at The Ohio State U, was a Chemical Engineer major.</p>
<p>Last year an outstanding DB from Florida State won a Rhodes.</p>
<p>BTW - Toby Gerhart is also an engineer in training. His to be awarded degree is in Management Science and Engineering which is in the Engineering department. And 21 units is a massive load as a senior - even if he weren’t playing football. He is also on track to graduate on time.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You are right. I’ve known a few of these types of student-athletes myself. But they are, by far, the exception to the rule, I’m very sorry to say. (The fact anyone can cite chapter and verse about these particular kids shows just how rare they are.)</p>
<p>I’ll save my diatribe why colleges should not be the minor leagues for basketball and football for another thread.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You know this because they are man bites dog stories. I don’t think half the recruited football players at Ohio State or Florida State even graduate. (I think Stanford’s graduation rates are quite high though–good for them.)</p>
<p>Myron Rolle might have won a Rhodes scholarship, but according to this article in ESPN</p>
<p>[Some</a> Florida State athletes helped by ‘learning disability’ diagnosis - ESPN](<a href=“Panthers and Rangers tied 1-1 heading to game 3 - ESPN”>Some Florida State athletes helped by 'learning disability' diagnosis - ESPN)</p>
<p>more than a third of the Florida State football team has learning disabilities. This is much higher than in the population at large and I’d guess much much higher than in the college student population at large. </p>
<p>The point of the article is not that these kids are actually learning disabled, but rather qualifying as such creates useful exemptions from those pesky academic standards.</p>