A 30-second NCAA ad, first posted on Twitter and now airing throughout the men's basketball tournament, depicts the the life of a student-athlete as "downright charmed, and perhaps even breezy," but it has been "widely rejected by former college athletes" and current players, according to Andrew Carter of the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER. The is a "disconnect between how the NCAA portrays college life for athletes and what living that life is actually like." When a number of men's basketball players were asked about the ad, the answers were "consistent and, at times, comical." Below are reactions from players in the NCAA Tournament:
- North Carolina G Cameron Johnson "laughed at the NCAA's portrayal."
- UNC F Sterling Manley said, "That is not the life of an athlete, by any means."
- Iowa F Tyler Cook: "Completely inaccurate, honestly."
- Iowa G Jordan Bohannon: "It's not true."
- Iowa F Ryan Kriener: "I'm a current NCAA athlete, I don't want to say anything to get in trouble, but that's not accurate."
- Washington G David Crisp said it felt like the NCAA "left out a few things."
- UNC F Luke Maye "smiled and shook his head." Maye: "I don't think it really showed a great depiction of the balance that we have" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/25).
TWITTER REAX: Texans DE JJ Watt tweeted, "The NCAA really doesn’t even know what a real day in the life of their own student-athletes is actually like huh?" Vikings CB Mike Hughes: "I’m already salty and they wanna keep playing this damn NCAA ad." Former NFLer Chase Vaughn: "NCAA is lying to these kids." Lakers G Alex Caruso: "Y’all paid the actors in this more than the real Student Athletes." USF LB Trey Laing: "They left out a lot of stuff." Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman: "Love how pro players are shredding that propagandist NCAA ad" (TWITTER.com, 3/24).
REALITY CHECK: ESPN’s Michael Smith noted the ad "got roasted" on social media. ESPN’s Bomani Jones said of the FBI investigation into college hoops, "I'm assuming that's the motivating factor for this awful ad.” Jones called the spot "propaganda" and "transparent," adding, "They are selling this to people who want to watch this.” Smith: “Nothing, to me, sells better than authenticity." Smith added the NCAA should "celebrate, if not acknowledge, the plight of the student-athlete and say, ‘Hey, thanks for making this whole operation possible, even though we’re not compensating you accordingly’” (“High Noon,” ESPN, 3/20).
