The Exploitation of College Athletes | Tim Nevius

In 40 out of 50 states, the highest paid public employee is now a college football or basketball coach. College sports is a $15 billion dollar a year entertainment industry built through the exploitation of the talent and health of the athletes – disproportionately African American males – who are barred from sharing in the wealth their work generates. Tim shares his insider’s view of this, having been both a college athlete and a compliance investigator with the NCAA. Listen as he explains why the reality of a “free college education” is not quite the benefit promised to thousands of athletes and their families each year, and identifies some common sense reforms that need to be made in order to reduce the inequities within the system of college athletics. Timothy Nevius is a sports attorney and former NCAA investigator. While at the NCAA, Tim led investigations into top athletic programs for violations of NCAA rules. Thereafter, he switched sides and helped initiate a landmark class action against the NCAA to challenge athlete compensation restrictions. Since then he established a one-of-a-kind sports law practice representing college athletes, and founded the College Athlete Advocacy Initiative at the Urban Justice Center in New York City. Tim graduated from the University of Dayton, where he played college baseball.  He also graduated first in his law school class from the University of Dayton and earned an LL.M. with honors from Columbia Law School. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.