UConn's Shabazz Napier rips the NCAA for failing student athletes
On Monday, UConn guard Shabazz Napier led the Huskies to another NCAA tournament title, earning Most Outstanding Player honors along the way. Yet while being interviewed by Jim Nantz in the afterglow, Napier eschewed the standard praise for family, religion, or destiny and instead went right after the NCAA itself.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, calling the crowd to attention, "you're looking at the hungry Huskies. This is what happens when you ban us, last year, two years. We worked so hard for it, two years and hungry."
Napier was referring to the school's 2013 postseason ban for failing to meet academic standards years before, when Napier wasn't even on the team. And it came after Napier, before the game, criticized the NCAA for reaping millions of dollars while he sometimes had "hungry nights where I'm not able to eat."
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"I don't see myself as so much of an employee," he said, "but when you see your jersey getting sold, to some credit, you feel like you want something in return." --Jon Terbush
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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