Demand the NCAA drop its malicious $11,500 fine against an unpaid student-athlete!

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    Demand the NCAA drop its malicious $11,500 fine against an unpaid student-athlete!

    Demand the NCAA drop its malicious $11,500 fine against an unpaid student-athlete!

    The National Collegiate Athletic Association has taken its exploitative, anti-Black policies to the next level and is currently forcing a teenager to pay an $11,500 fine over a financial decision he did not make.

    Freshman basketball star James Wiseman is the latest victim of the NCAA’s draconian amateurism rules. Wiseman was a high school senior when his coach, former NBA star Penny Hardaway, gave his family $11,000 to move to a better school district. The NCAA became aware of the situation and has been targeting Wiseman and his team, the Memphis Tigers, ever since: suspending the star from 12 games and requiring him to pay a fine of $11,500. The NCAA knows that Wiseman, an unpaid student-athlete, cannot afford to pay this fine. This is a vindictive move to control Wiseman the way the NCAA tries to financially control all Black student-athletes.

    The NCAA is not only harming the young star’s financial well-being; it is also robbing him of future earning opportunities. Wiseman is a potential #1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. This suspension could cause him to fall down the draft, costing him millions. The NCAA cannot continue to exploit and harm Black student-athletes.

    Demand that the NCAA drop this malicious fine immediately!

    Here is the Petition:
    Mr. Emmert,

    According to your mission statement, the National Collegiate Athletic Association is a member-led organization dedicated to the well-being and lifelong success of college athletes. Punishing James Wiseman, an unpaid student-athlete, by imposing an $11.5K fine is in direct contradiction to supporting his well-being or success.

    It is morally reprehensible that the NCAA would force a teenager, who cannot earn money as a student-athlete, to pay such an exorbitant fine. Student-athletes should be supported through financial hardship, not punished for it.

    The fine and the suspension could hurt Wiseman's ability to be successful as a student athlete. Not only is this punitive fine harming his financial well-being, it is also harming his collegiate path. Wiseman is widely projected to be the #1 NBA draft pick. This suspension could cause him to fall down the draft, costing him millions. The NCAA must drop this fine and allow this student-athlete a fair chance.