Why Pick on Blacks in the NBA Draft?

Why is there such an uproar when young African American men leave college early to play professional basketball and little such comment when young white men leave school early to pursue careers in baseball and hockey? The same questions can be asked regarding young white men and women in professional tennis, where many pursue that career in lieu of college. The answer lies largely in the race of the athletes.

The criticism of one who bypasses college should apply equally to all athletes who choose to leave school early.

In this year’s National Basketball Assn. draft, much of the media frenzy was not over who was drafted but why so many underclassmen were leaving school before graduating. Some commentators pointed with particular dissatisfaction at two high school students, Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O’Neal (both selected in the first round), who chose to bypass college altogether. The first seven players chosen in the draft were underclassmen. By comparison, 15 first-round picks in baseball’s 1995 draft were high schoolers.

Major league baseball and the National Hockey League are in many ways equally culpable, but the NBA is, arguably, the best of the lot when it comes to underclassmen.

This issue with regard to basketball must be evaluated in light of two distinguishing factors. First, underclassmen who come out early to play professional basketball are likely to receive guaranteed contracts worth millions of dollars. Also, it is an NBA star, Michael Jordan, who has set the standard for endorsement income, earning more than $30 million last year. Hockey and baseball stars don’t have the same level of endorsement success as top NBA stars. The economic decision to leave school to play in the NBA and receive immediate financial benefits is more rational than leaving school early to play professional baseball or hockey.

There exists, however, a perception that black males, more than most Americans, need to attend college. It is these high-profile athletes that society thrusts forward as role models for other black males. Therefore, many believe, there is a higher duty for them to provide the model of staying in school. For whites, the argument goes, there are role models available elsewhere.

Why the distinction between basketball and other sports? A preferable answer is the lower profile of non-basketball athletes; we are just less aware of those who leave school for other sports. The less desirable answer may be related to race: 82% of the NBA players are minority, as are 38% in major league baseball and less than 1% in the NHL. This race issue may, subconsciously for many, be the reason for the different level of scrutiny.

If anything, there should be less criticism of athletes entering the NBA draft than those leaving school to participate in other sports. The pay is immediate and generally at a much higher level than the earnings of those who play minor league baseball or junior hockey or are starting out in tennis.

Other than the financial differentiation, the loss suffered by all of these athletes is the same: the academic and socialization value of four years on a college campus. The four to five years the average student spends there is a tremendous time for growth far broader than through academic knowledge alone.

The criticism of underclassmen pursuing professional sports careers should be carefully and evenhandedly dished out. Both black and white athletes are missing out on an important formative experience.