Josh Rosen is kicking up quite the kerfuffle. Again. Still.
In a wide-ranging Bleacher Report interview, the outspoken UCLA quarterback outright questioned the current model of college football players also doubling as students, essentially calling it unsustainable. From the interview:Look, football and school don’t go together. They just don’t. Trying to do both is like trying to do two full-time jobs. There are guys who have no business being in school, but they’re here because this is the path to the NFL. There’s no other way. Then there’s the other side that says raise the SAT eligibility requirements. OK, raise the SAT requirement at Alabama and see what kind of team they have. You lose athletes and then the product on the field suffers.
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It’s not that they shouldn’t be in school. Human beings don’t belong in school with our schedules. No one in their right mind should have a football player’s schedule, and go to school. It’s not that some players shouldn’t be in school; it’s just that universities should help them more—instead of just finding ways to keep them eligible.
Rosen was widely applauded for what some viewed as pointing out the hypocrisy of the NCAA model. There was also some criticism of his stance, from one former Ohio State quarterback who once opined on Twitter that “classes are pointless”...
Chill bro, play school pic.twitter.com/ZlJOhzTHcL
— Cardale Jones (@Cardale7_) August 8, 2017
... to the equally outspoken Charles Barkley, who lashed out at Rosen during a Dan Patrick interview Wednesday, saying, in part, that he “hated that message” that black athletes are essentially being told by the junior quarterback they don’t need an education.
“I don’t want some rich white kid who’s gonna be a No. 1 draft pick talking about... we’re just wasting our time,” the former Auburn basketball player stated. “Well, most of those kids (are) not wasting those times. Most of those kids need that free education to be successful at life.
“And he might be a nice kid, but lemme tell you something: I don’t want any rich white kid telling black kids, ‘no don’t worry about this stuff. Just come here and play football.’ Those kids ain’t got no chance at going to the NFL. Those kids need that education. ... I hate that message.”