Finally tackling "the hypocrisy at the root of the big-time college sports system."

There's nothing inherently wrong with the notion of college athletics, even if the system makes a mockery of any sensible notion of "student" athlete, because America is irony-free .... but ONLY if the human beings actually creating the megabuck value are remunerated fairly. This has not been the case for decades, and whatever might be done to change it, should be commenced immediately.

Delicious commentary is here:

With Judge’s Rebuke, a System Built on Hypocrisy Is Wobbling, by William C. Rhoden (NYT)

... Representatives of these power conferences complain about allowing athletes a share of the revenue. They want it both ways: The rich universities want to break from the pack and set up their own rules, but they object to sharing the revenue with the athletes who generate the wealth.

Wilken’s ruling put a price on the cost of doing business.

The judge's decision is here:

N.C.A.A. Must Allow Colleges to Pay Athletes, Judge Rules, by Ben Strauss and Marc Tracy (NYT)

In a decision that could drastically reshape the world of college sports, a federal judge ruled on Friday that the N.C.A.A.'s decades-old rules barring payments to college athletes were in violation of antitrust laws ...

... Advocates for student-athletes declared it a major victory.

“The decision goes behind the curtain of amateurism and says there’s nothing there,” William Isaacson, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said. “It’s a remarkable step forward for decency for college athletes.”