Victim of Culture

Becoming a high school dropout for fame and fortune

Jeremy Tyler is a very talented young man.  It shouldn’t surprise you that the only reason anyone is discussing his talent as a high school student is because he can play sports (also acceptable as reason would have been he’s an American Idol contestant).  So, high school players get talked about all the time, especially basketball players, and he’s got a year of college ahead of him, right?  Wrong.

You see, Jeremy is still just a junior in high school.  He isn’t contemplating going pro after his senior year, but after his junior year.  That’s right–drop out of high school and play pro ball in Europe.

Instead Jeremy and his father, James, who owns his own home improvement company and is about to open a family restaurant, surveyed the traditional route, decided it made little sense, and went looking for a new plan. They called retired sneaker executive and hoops deal maker Sonny Vaccaro and plotted a course for Europe.

I have nothing against a young person foregoing college for the guaranteed pay day.  It’s one thing to skip higher education to take a $25,000 a year factory job, but quite another when you’re staring down millions and concerned with your body holding up.  We’ve seen this in recent years with Greg Oden, who could be the best center in the NBA in years if his big frame could support him.

No, people should not try to shame Tyler into going to college for a year.  Let him sign his million dollar contract, watch his money responsibly, and then college is always there for him later.  But again, we’re not talking about skipping college, but high school.  It isn’t unheard of, as teenagers have played professional baseball, soccer, tennis, etc. for years.  But is this really what we want for young people?

There is indeed an argument for treating 18-year-olds as the adults they are and not forcing seniors in high school to ask permission to go to the bathroom, but there’s little good argument for telling them to just skip their senior year on a gamble of making it rich.  Lack of a college degree still not does doom someone in today’s economy.  Lack of a high school degree does.

Someday Mr. Tyler will likely be a great NBA center, but he’d be well advised to wait one more year and then go play in Europe if he wants the money grab.  Then just one more year till the NBA.  The NBA is littered with the shattered dreams of players who thought they didn’t need one year of development in college.  He’s forsaking two years.  If he does it and succeeds, then good for him.  But telling young men to drop out of school for sports seems the worst message possible in a shifting economy.

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