clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

John Oliver attacks NCAA on March Madness and Paying Players

On Sunday evening’s episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver brutally eviscerated the NCAA

By nickdempsey
Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver spent a full 20 minutes eviscerating the NCAA's stance on amateurism, and commercialism within college athletics. In this satirical piece Oliver touches on all the sensitive subjects that this debate covers including the O'Bannon trial, starving players a Richard Sherman press conference and more. Oliver pulls no punches in his verbal lashing of the NCAA.

You can watch the full clip below. Fair warning, like many HBO programs there is a lot of salty language, and other adult content, I'd avoid watching this at work, or within ear shot of the impressionable.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pX8BXH3SJn0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Here is more from SB Nation.

What do you think about John Oliver's stance? Did he hit the nail on the head? Did he ignore critical counter arguments? Did you find it funny? Many of the points Oliver touches on such as paper classes, GPA manipulation, and abusive coaches do not really apply to Stanford. Furthermore, keep in mind Stanford's Athletic Director Bernard Muir has stated that "If our athletes are deemed to be employees, we will opt for a different model."

Paying college athletes can certainly be a contentious subject. What do you think, Nerd Nation? Share your thoughts in the comments below.