Being a student-athlete is very challenging. It often involves the student-athlete's physical, emotional, and mental commitment. From my observation as the parent of two former NCAA student-athletes who played basketball and football, you learn quickly or not so quickly that a career student-athlete is only as far as a coach deems it should go. It doesn't matter the skill, talent, or work ethic. You can come floating from the sky with diamonds and minerals and the skills of God. The industry, the world of sports, from my observation, can destroy a student-athletes life with career-ending injuries, both mental and/or physical, and not give a damn. What is a student-athlete to do when they are told to keep working hard? Hard work pays off when these words hold zero meaning in sports. A student-athlete is being told to be a practice body, fulfill some diversity school requirement, or who knows. The recruitment trips to the school sell you a dog and pony show that many athletes will not even have a chance to experience because they are not on the coach’s list to excel forwards. From my observation, the athlete does not know the real deal, and the current athletes are told not to reveal the real deal until a recruit's name is signed on the dotted line. So, this is an unevenly negotiated contract that will result in many cases with the student-athlete being hurt.