Pearl Washington

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There's a Go Fund Me Page set up for former Syracuse basketball player Pearl Washington.

The people who love him are looking to raise money so that he can pay for his medical bills.

Peral Washington was a great player for the University back in the 1980's.

He never made it to the pro's.

He never got the big money.

From what you read about him...

...his life has been nothing but a struggle from the time when Syracuse made money off his name as they went far into the NCAA Tournament.

His paid-for education did little for him.

And there are people out there who will immediately dismiss Pearl Washington's problems. He was plunked out of poverty, handed a scholarship to a great school and was cheered on a national level.

Boo-hoo, right?

He didn't take charge of his life and make the most of what was handed to him.

The story might just be a little more complicated than that.

Washington was yanked out of poverty and he did spend 4 years competing at the highest collegiate level.

He was a great college player but wasn't good enough for the professional leagues.

He should've went to classes and had a fall-back plan, right?

Maybe.

A lot of those guys don't think that way.

The college holds them up.

The classes they take are very often cake classes or believe it or not bogus all together.

Players are at the college to win games, maximize TV money, sell tickets and merchandise and bring glory to the multi-million dollar coaches, the university and the alumni donors.

Once Pearl Washington's eligibility ran out...

...so did the people who "loved" him.

He was ill-equipped to cope with life's challenges.

He was sent on his way.

Back to the poverty-ridden life he thought he had escaped.

Boo-hoo, right?

Pull yourself up by the bootstraps! This is America!!

Well.

I think he got a raw deal.

So do thousands of others who are recruited, treated like kings, and then discarded.

God Help Peral Washington and all the other athletes who are used in such a manner.

Boo-hoo, indeed.

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