{"id":1087,"date":"2021-02-21T16:54:01","date_gmt":"2021-02-21T21:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/?p=1087"},"modified":"2021-02-25T08:07:35","modified_gmt":"2021-02-25T13:07:35","slug":"jalen-johnson-student-athletes-business-critics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/jalen-johnson-student-athletes-business-critics\/","title":{"rendered":"So College Athletes Can\u2019t Make Business Decisions But Everyone Else Can?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remember when Ohio State quarterback <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/us\/ncaa-football\/news\/cardale-jones-ohio-state-nfl-xfl\/959x8pcl37bq18jvt8xxd55pw\">Cardale Jones<\/a> said the quiet part out loud regarding capitalism, the NCAA, and student-athletes?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhy should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain\u2019t come here to play SCHOOL, classes are pointless,\u201d Jones tweeted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or when eventual college football legend Joe Burrow was buried behind Jones, Braxton Miller,&nbsp; and J.T. Barrett on the Buckeyes\u2019 quarterback depth chart as a true freshman?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Well I came here to play,&#8221; Burrow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/us\/ncaa-football\/news\/joe-burrow-ohio-state-spring-game-quarterback-race-transfer-decision-urban-meyer\/v5pyus55ggd51ae3ft8us2meq\">said<\/a> in 2018. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t come here to sit on the bench for four years. I know I&#8217;m a pretty good quarterback. I want to play somewhere.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Burrow didn\u2019t quit after being relegated to the bench in Columbus. Instead, he made a business decision that clearly paid off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But when Duke basketball player Jalen Johnson recently opted out, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YhHSHFIrPOc\">some in the media<\/a> chided him for his decision, calling him a \u201cquitter\u201d and \u201ccowardly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim piled on Johnson, shaming the young man by saying, in part:<\/p><div id=\"first-919206651\" class=\"first-content first-entity-placement\"><!-- \/22950135888\/FAP_Article_Leaderboard_Instream2 -->\r\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1700413625220-0' style='min-width: 300px; min-height: 90px;'>\r\n  <script>\r\n    googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700413625220-0'); });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat 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,\u201d Boeheim said on his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.syracuse.com\/orangebasketball\/2021\/02\/jim-boeheim-radio-show-jimmys-status-with-cornell-duke-being-better-without-jalen-johnson-ncaa-tournament.html\">radio show<\/a>. \u201cThey\u2019ve had two monster wins since he\u2019s opted out and they\u2019re playing good basketball. They\u2019ve got very good talent. You knew they were going to play out of this thing and now they\u2019re playing well\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CBS Sports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/college-basketball\/news\/jim-boeheim-blasts-dukes-jalen-johnson-after-he-opted-out-they-actually-are-much-better-now-without-him\/\">cited<\/a> analytics, a longtime irritant of Black basketball players, to further support Coach Boeheim\u2019s assessment of Johnson.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJohnson 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But this isn\u2019t about stats. It\u2019s about life.<\/p><div id=\"first-2981135281\" class=\"first-content_2 first-entity-placement\"><!-- \/22950135888\/FAP_Article_Leaderboard_Instream3 -->\r\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1700413989195-0' style='min-width: 300px; min-height: 90px;'>\r\n  <script>\r\n    googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700413989195-0'); });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>COVID and College Basketball<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After their lopsided loss to Illinois earlier this season, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/duke\/.amp\/basketball\/shut-it-down-coach-k-reassess-playing-during-pandemic\">suggested<\/a> shutting down the season amid COVID-19 concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou have 2,000 deaths a day,\u201d Krzyzewski told reporters. \u201cYou have 200,000 cases. People are saying the next six weeks are going be the worst. To me, it\u2019s 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?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unsurprisingly, Coach K. didn\u2019t receive the same energy Jalen Johnson has gotten thus far.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But maybe Johnson\u2019s departure truly is a case of addition by subtraction.&nbsp;<\/p><div id=\"first-110803834\" class=\"first-content_3 first-entity-placement\"><!-- \/22950135888\/FAP_Article_Leaderboard_Instream4 -->\r\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1700414036595-0' style='min-width: 300px; min-height: 90px;'>\r\n  <script>\r\n    googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700414036595-0'); });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe Johnson weighed the COVID-19 pandemic and lingering injuries and decided to stop playing college hoops for free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or maybe he\u2019s aware of what New York Liberty guard Asia Durr, a COVID-19 \u201clong-hauler\u201d, is experiencing after contracting the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Durr tested positive for the virus in June 2020, lost 32 pounds, and hasn\u2019t played since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u201cI haven\u2019t been able to [pick up a ball],\u201d Durr told HBO\u2019s Real Sports. \u201cIt\u2019s really challenging for me. But I\u2019ve talked to doctors and they\u2019ve told me I\u2019m not cleared yet. I\u2019m not cleared to be able to do anything physically, which could cause flare-ups [is] what they call it. And that\u2019s what\u2019s really hard for me because in life whenever something was hard I would go and play. I can\u2019t even do that now. I can\u2019t even shoot a free throw.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like any other realist, Johnson playing meaningless college games while the NBA &#8212; and generational wealth &#8212; beckons is \u201cpointless\u201d as Jones once described.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And bringing up the number of high schools Johnson attended and tweeting Duke\u2019s record when he wasn\u2019t in the lineup, is a sucka&#8217; move.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Duke is now 5-0 without Jalen Johnson, and one of its best wins came when he only played 8 minutes. Johnson has a bright future but it&#39;s clear this team functions better without him. The ball moves.<\/p>&mdash; Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SethDavisHoops\/status\/1363334875797938176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 21, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I bet Johnson prefers numbers too, like the ones on his first NBA game check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This situation isn\u2019t unique to basketball though. How many journalists leave jobs for greener pastures as Johnson did?\u00a0It happens all the time and no one calls them quitters.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I don\u2019t know Jalen Johnson, nor the nuances of Duke hoops, but I do know what it\u2019s like to weigh my options as a journalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I didn\u2019t quit on my former employer; I did what was best for me and mine.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jalen Johnson did the same and made it clear in the statement announcing his decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Coach K, my teammates and the program have been nothing but supportive throughout this season, especially during the rehab of my foot injury,\u201d said Johnson in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/college-basketball\/news\/duke-freshman-forward-jalen-johnson-opts-out-of-remainder-of-college-basketball-season\/\">statement<\/a>. \u201cMy 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&#8217;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like Cardale and Burrow, Jalen Johnson was honest in his decision. But they struck a nerve when they exposed <a href=\"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/college-football-playoff-quasi-caste-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a flawed system<\/a> meant to limit the power and options of student-athletes. That\u2019s why he&#8217;s been vilified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson shouldn\u2019t suffer fools, particularly journalists who routinely make similar decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Remember when Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones said the quiet part out loud regarding capitalism, the NCAA, and student-athletes?&nbsp; \u201cWhy should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain\u2019t come here to play SCHOOL, classes are pointless,\u201d Jones tweeted.&nbsp; Or when eventual college football legend Joe Burrow was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[85,198,197,159],"class_list":["post-1087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-college-basketball","tag-duke-blue-devils","tag-jalen-johnson","tag-north-carolina"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>So College Athletes Can\u2019t Make Business Decisions But Everyone Else Can?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When Duke&#039;s Jalen Johnson decided to opt-out and prepare for his future in the NBA, critics called him a &quot;quitter&quot; and &quot;cowardly&quot;.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/jalen-johnson-student-athletes-business-critics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"So College Athletes Can\u2019t Make Business Decisions But Everyone Else Can?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Duke&#039;s Jalen Johnson decided to opt-out and prepare for his future in the NBA, critics called him a &quot;quitter&quot; and &quot;cowardly&quot;.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/jalen-johnson-student-athletes-business-critics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"First And Pen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-21T21:54:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-25T13:07:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/firstandpen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Jalen-Johnson-GettyImages-1299869962.jpg?fit=1024%2C726&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"726\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Evan F. 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