In the wake of the FBI investigation into college basketball teams reportedly paying players, Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy ripped into the NCAA ahead of his team’s Sunday game with the Charlotte Hornets.
Van Gundy said the rule that forces high school basketball players to either attend a year of college or play a year overseas before being eligible to play in the NBA is “racist” because white sports like MLB and NHL do not have that rule.
“I think a lot of it was racist, quite honestly,” Van Gundy stated. “And the reason I’m going to say that is, I’ve never heard anybody like go up in arms about, ‘Oh my god, they’re letting these kids go out and play minor-league baseball’ or, ‘They’re letting these kids come out and play minor-league hockey.’ They’re not making big money, and they’re white kids primarily, and nobody has a problem.”
He continued, “But all of a sudden now, you’ve got a black kid who wants to come out of high school and make millions — that’s a bad decision? But bypassing college to go play for $800 a month in minor-league baseball – that’s a fine decision? What the hell is going on?”
Van Gundy then called the NCAA “one of the worst organizations” in sports.
“The NCAA is one of the worst organizations — maybe the worst organization — in sports,” he said. “They certainly don’t care about the athletes. And they’re going to act now like they’re just appalled by all these things going on in college basketball? Please. Come on. It’s ridiculous.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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