"The NCAA earns so much money from these players every year, yet they don’t give the players a cent, and they don’t allow them to have any financial dealings with companies or teams. Meanwhile, they enjoy what might be the largest economic benefits in the American sports industry. To maintain the exclusivity and monopoly of these benefits, they set up a special detective agency-like investigation body, constantly digging into the players’ private financial dealings, and punishing schools, agents, and players. I want to ask, is America still a free country? I want to ask, what’s the substantial harm to society and the basketball industry if these players use their talents and abilities to obtain some angel investments? Why does the NCAA committee pursue rumors like hyenas and revisit past events? Is it merely to uphold the so-called purity of ’amateur sports’? If you care so much about purity, why sell broadcast rights at high prices to TV stations? Why not just distribute them freely to viewers and then accept some donations to maintain the matches?"
Gan Guoyang’s criticism immediately caused a stir in the American basketball circle, not because what he said was particularly reasonable, others had said similar things before, but because of his identity and status.
The same words, if they came from a fan complaining, wouldn’t amount to much, but when spoken by someone of his identity and status, it poses a significant challenge to the NCAA, because it will encourage many fans and young players to side with him.
As expected, young NBA players, both those who play in the NCAA and those who just entered the NBA, stood out to voice their support for Ah Gan’s criticism of the NCAA, declaring the NCAA as a vampire, an exploitative factory, and plantation sapping the value of college athletes.
David Stern even secretly called Ah Gan to lavish praise on Gan Guoyang’s remarks.
"Good job, Sonny! That was a beautiful straight punch! You’re winning the support of young players, which will help you control their future contract choices."
"Fuck you, David, I’m not that sinister, I’m just speaking the truth."
"OK, OK, you’re just speaking the truth, and I’m merely stating a fact."
In many people’s minds, the NCAA seems like a youth training ground for the NBA, nurturing fresh blood for the professional league.
In reality, that’s not the case at all; the NCAA and NBA are on an equal footing, competing against each other.
The NCAA was established before the NBA, and in the early years, the NBA often had to compete for markets and fans with NCAA college teams.
In some places, such as Kansas, the NBA couldn’t compete with the NCAA; fans there preferred college basketball and weren’t interested in professional basketball.
As a result, the city of Kansas, with its vast basketball market, withdrew several times after the NBA tried to establish itself there, ultimately moving to places where the NCAA’s dominance wasn’t as strong.
The battle for talent between the two has intensified in recent years. Talented high school players like Garnett, Little O’Neal, and Kobe bypassed college to enter the NBA directly, which is a huge loss for the NCAA.
So, in recent years, the NCAA has been promoting the idea that high school players entering the NBA directly have various drawbacks, and the NBA should raise the minimum age for young players entering the draft to ensure they attend college.
But behind this is a struggle for talent. The NCAA also needs talented players to attract fans and expand the market; otherwise, how could they sell tickets and broadcast rights at high prices?
Gan Guoyang’s remarks and the subsequent media storm played right into Stern’s hands. During this time, the NCAA’s continuous investigations into young players and revisiting old cases created widespread unease within the league.
This was the time for someone to step up and diminish the NCAA’s prestige. Players like Jordan and Ewing, who graduated from prestigious schools, behaved obediently like puppies in front of college coaches, so how could they come out and attack the NCAA?
Moreover, these veterans already didn’t see eye to eye with this new generation of players, making it even less likely for them to speak up. Not stepping out to suppress them is already a sign of manners.
It had to be Ah Gan, the league’s number one hothead in history, the chairman of the Players Union, NCAA champion, the god of Gonzaga, and a foreigner, taking shots at the NCAA without any psychological pressure.
The NCAA was in the midst of the national tournament, the matches were in full swing, and Ah Gan’s onslaught left the entire committee in an awkward position.
However, they didn’t dare to launch a strong counterattack because they already sensed some ominous signs. If they said the wrong thing, there could be disastrous consequences.
Thus, the NCAA chose to remain silent and not respond, and they temporarily halted the investigation process, allowing young players like Wei Bo and Camby to finish the regular season and address the issues during the offseason.
Gan Guoyang’s actions earned him the support of the league’s rising stars, many of whom had been his fans from a young age, further enhancing his prestige.
Stern was right, Ah Gan’s presence did indeed contribute significantly to the stability and prosperity of the league.
[Do you think Storrs City, Connecticut, is remote?
Then you might want to try Oshkosh, Wisconsin, about 90 miles from Milwaukee, where the Bucks hold their training camp.
I don’t want to seem petty, I know many people would trade places with me in an instant to become an NBA star.
But I want to say, playing in the NBA isn’t as glamorous as people make it out to be.
Hotel. Practice. Hotel. Practice. You get what I mean.
Life in Oshkosh is just repetitive as ever, and it doesn’t become more colorful once the season starts. Those parties, luxury cars, celebrities, if that’s the life of a professional basketball player, it belongs to other cities, not Milwaukee.