Sixers’ Ben Simmons rips NCAA in new documentary
Ben Simmons has harsh words for the NCAA, as revealed in the forthcoming Showtime documentary One and Done.
“The NCAA is really f---ed up,” Simmons says in the film, which airs Friday. “Everybody's making money except the players. We're the ones waking up early as hell to be the best teams and do everything they want us to do and then the players get nothing. They say education, but if I'm there for a year, I can't get much education.”
According to ESPN, the comments come as Simmons complains about having to attend class.
Simmons, now 20, was benched on one occasion at LSU as a freshman last season for missing class, and was ineligible for the Wooden Award because of a sub-2.0 GPA. He was selected first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in July. The documentary chronicles his path from Australia to the draft.
He also says he aims to be a voice for college athletes going forward.
“The NCAA is messed up,” Simmons says. “I don't have a voice. ... I don't get paid to do it. Don't say I'm an amateur and make me take pictures and sign stuff and go make hundreds of thousands of millions of dollars off one person. ... I'm going off on the NCAA. Just wait, just wait. I can be a voice for everybody in college. I'm here because I have to be here [at LSU]. ... I can't get a degree in two semesters, so it's kind of pointless. I feel like I'm wasting time.”
