
Myles Turner, Jaylen Brown and Jay Ajayi are among the pro athletes scoffing at the NCAA’s student-athlete promo video.
The NCAA tweeted a video with the caption “Student and athlete — a day in the life” on Sunday. It was meant to be a preview, or a promotion, of what it’s like to compete on the collegiate level while balancing schoolwork and social life that comes with further education.
Student and athlete — a day in the life. pic.twitter.com/KBLa1gBLnq
— NCAA (@NCAA) March 17, 2019
The video shows a student waking up, going to class, going for a run, socializing with classmates, playing basketball, studying in the library, then going to sleep. It didn’t take long for former college athletes to point out this is all a sham.
There was a chorus of athletes, many now on the professional level, responding to the video. They don’t believe it was an accurate representation of the life of a student-athlete. Not by a long shot.
It is fantastic to see all the current and former student-athletes calling complete bullshit on this ad. https://t.co/M7pZ1UePDL
— Chris Carlin (@ChrisCarlin) March 20, 2019
If you don’t know what “cap,” or the hat emoji means, it means someone’s lying. “No cap” means “no lie.” Cap means lie. Easy enough, right?
NBA stars Myles Turner and Jaylen Brown, as well as NFL running back Jay Ajayi, each said the NCAA’s student-athlete video was cap. Ajayi called it “big cap” and Turner called it “cap of the year.”
— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) March 19, 2019
Bro I can’t get over that NCAA video of the year
— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) March 19, 2019
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) March 19, 2019
BIG CAP! pic.twitter.com/eS9m4jHFNe
— Jay Ajayi (@JayTrain) March 20, 2019
They’re not the only ones. Lakers guard Alex Caruso pointed out the NCAA probably paid the actors more than they’re paying the student-athletes who compete on game day.
Y’all paid the actors in this more than the real Student Athletes https://t.co/DfhJUCQFfz
— Alex Caruso (@ACFresh21) March 19, 2019
Kentucky running back Benny Snell checked with chief:
This ain’t it
— Mr SNELL YA LATER (@benny_snell) March 20, 2019
And the general consensus among student-athletes — both past and present — who tweeted about the NCAA’s video was that it wasn’t a real-life representation of what it’s like to play sports college.
— Jalyn Holmes Sr. (@JayHolmes_) March 19, 2019
— Ricky Sapp (@Sapp91) March 19, 2019
— D.J. Humphries (@74_hump) March 19, 2019
And the verdict on this lie of a video is in......... pic.twitter.com/qs350QLwqF
— Kerryon Johnson (@AyeyoKEJO) March 19, 2019
— Cole Hardin (@ColeHardin) March 19, 2019
All former and current student-athletes know that this is not an accurate representation. https://t.co/4ONTdgtxXk
— Tyler Dragon (@TheTylerDragon) March 20, 2019
So how do players really spend their days?
Not how the NCAA’s video projected it.
Next College Student Athlete provided a much more detailed and comprehensive breakdown of what a Division I football schedule is like. It includes waking up at 5 a.m. to eat breakfast and pack for the day, working out from 6 to 8 a.m., classes from 9 am to 2 p.m., practice at 3 p.m. and more training, studying and homework in the evening before getting to sleep by midnight.
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Former Florida football head coach Jim McElwain also tweeted a graphic that details how every hour of a student-athlete’s day is accounted for. The players seem to wake up no later than 6 a.m. and get home for homework around 9 p.m.
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Every sport is different and every program has a different way of doing things. The only certainty is that a day in the life of a student-athlete cannot be summed up in a 30-second snapshot.