Remember when Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones said the quiet part out loud regarding capitalism, the NCAA, and student-athletes?
“Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain’t come here to play SCHOOL, classes are pointless,” Jones tweeted.
Or when eventual college football legend Joe Burrow was buried behind Jones, Braxton Miller, and J.T. Barrett on the Buckeyes’ quarterback depth chart as a true freshman?
“Well I came here to play,” Burrow said in 2018. “I didn’t come here to sit on the bench for four years. I know I’m a pretty good quarterback. I want to play somewhere.”
So Burrow transferred to LSU and had one of the greatest seasons in college football history. He won the Heisman, the National Championship, and was the No.1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Burrow didn’t quit after being relegated to the bench in Columbus. Instead, he made a business decision that clearly paid off.
But when Duke basketball player Jalen Johnson recently opted out, some in the media chided him for his decision, calling him a “quitter” and “cowardly.”
Even Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim piled on Johnson, shaming the young man by saying, in part:
“That guy was hurting them so they actually are much better now without him. He was just doing some things and keeping other people from playing that are good,” Boeheim said on his radio show. “They’ve had two monster wins since he’s opted out and they’re playing good basketball. They’ve got very good talent. You knew they were going to play out of this thing and now they’re playing well…”
CBS Sports cited analytics, a longtime irritant of Black basketball players, to further support Coach Boeheim’s assessment of Johnson.
“Johnson is the only Duke player this season who has a negative team efficiency margin on the season factoring in impact and efficiency between offense and defense.”
But this isn’t about stats. It’s about life.
COVID and College Basketball
After their lopsided loss to Illinois earlier this season, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski suggested shutting down the season amid COVID-19 concerns.
“You have 2,000 deaths a day,” Krzyzewski told reporters. “You have 200,000 cases. People are saying the next six weeks are going be the worst. To me, it’s already pretty bad. On the other side of it, there are these vaccines that are coming out. By the end of the month 20 million vaccine shots will be given. By the end of January or in February, another 100 million. Should we not reassess that? See just what would be best?”
Unsurprisingly, Coach K. didn’t receive the same energy Jalen Johnson has gotten thus far.
But maybe Johnson’s departure truly is a case of addition by subtraction.
Maybe Johnson weighed the COVID-19 pandemic and lingering injuries and decided to stop playing college hoops for free.
Or maybe he’s aware of what New York Liberty guard Asia Durr, a COVID-19 “long-hauler”, is experiencing after contracting the virus.
Durr tested positive for the virus in June 2020, lost 32 pounds, and hasn’t played since.
““I haven’t been able to [pick up a ball],” Durr told HBO’s Real Sports. “It’s really challenging for me. But I’ve talked to doctors and they’ve told me I’m not cleared yet. I’m not cleared to be able to do anything physically, which could cause flare-ups [is] what they call it. And that’s what’s really hard for me because in life whenever something was hard I would go and play. I can’t even do that now. I can’t even shoot a free throw.”
Like any other realist, Johnson playing meaningless college games while the NBA — and generational wealth — beckons is “pointless” as Jones once described.
And bringing up the number of high schools Johnson attended and tweeting Duke’s record when he wasn’t in the lineup, is a sucka’ move.
I bet Johnson prefers numbers too, like the ones on his first NBA game check.
This situation isn’t unique to basketball though. How many journalists leave jobs for greener pastures as Johnson did? It happens all the time and no one calls them quitters.
I don’t know Jalen Johnson, nor the nuances of Duke hoops, but I do know what it’s like to weigh my options as a journalist.
When I left my previous job to take my current one, I thought of the salary, my commute, and how the new gig would have an impact on my daughter.
I didn’t quit on my former employer; I did what was best for me and mine.
Jalen Johnson did the same and made it clear in the statement announcing his decision.
“Coach K, my teammates and the program have been nothing but supportive throughout this season, especially during the rehab of my foot injury,” said Johnson in a statement. “My family, Coach and I have made the decision that I should not play the remainder of this season so I can be 100 percent healthy in preparation for the NBA Draft. This was not easy but we feel it’s best for my future. I have nothing but love for the Brotherhood and thank my teammates and everyone associated with the program. Duke will always have a special place in my heart and will always be a part of me.”
Like Cardale and Burrow, Jalen Johnson was honest in his decision. But they struck a nerve when they exposed a flawed system meant to limit the power and options of student-athletes. That’s why he’s been vilified.
Johnson shouldn’t suffer fools, particularly journalists who routinely make similar decisions.
