'Friday Night Lights' Author: Black Athletes Who Fail Face 'Racist Scorn'

Buzz Bissinger cautions against treating a black player like a "football animal."
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Twenty-five years after he published the bestseller  Friday Night Lights, Buzz Bissinger still isn't satisfied with how the machine of football in America treats minority athletes.

In the book, Bissinger writes about Boobie Miles, a promising young athlete whose potential in sports is shattered because of a knee injury. During a conversation with HuffPost Live's Nancy Redd on Tuesday, Bissinger explained how that tragic loss of opportunity is still alive and well among African American kids who think sports are their only path to success. 

"We're really selling inner city kids in particular, black kids in particular, a bill of goods, and that's pointed out in Friday Night Lights," Bissinger said. "There's no better, more tragic, more harrowing, more sad example than the main character of the book, which is Boobie Miles. ... He's the poster child for what happens -- and I don't know how else to say it -- when you are treated as a football animal. When it is believed you have no value -- none -- beyond your ability to play sports." 

Bissinger added that it's incredibly difficult for athletes to find another way to be successful after they've been torn down because they couldn't make it in football.

"When you get no education, when you're put on a pedestal and when that pedestal is taken away from you because you got hurt and then you're treated with racist scorn, you have no way, no underpinning or no foundation to make it in life," he said. "You just don't."

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11 Ways College Athletes Are Treated Worse Than Unpaid Interns
1. Unlike Unpaid Interns, Athletes Are Punished For Making Money Even When They're "Off Work"(01 of11)
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According to NCAA rules, a student-athlete "may not benefit from the use of his or her name, likeness or image used to promote or endorse a commercial product or entity." This bizarre rule gained national attention in February, when University of Minnesota wrestler Joel Bauman alleged he lost his playing eligibility for selling a song under his own name. (Texas A&M football player Johnny Manziel was also recently suspended for signing autographs.) (credit:AP)
2. Athletes' Bosses Make Millions Directly Off Their Success(02 of11)
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As many as 42 college football coaches earned at least $2 million in 2012, and some college basketball coaches -- including University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari (pictured here) -- make more than $5 million. (credit:AP)
3. Corporations Rake In Millions Off Merchandise Made More Popular By Unpaid Players(03 of11)
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4. Oh, And Video Game Makers Also Profit Off College Athletes(04 of11)
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Under NCAA rules, companies are not allowed to use student-athletes' names to turn a profit. Yet video-game makers have found a way around the rule: allegedly creating virtual players in video games that look and play like the real-life players. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="55ef58fee4b002d5c07726f8" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="13" data-vars-position-in-unit="17">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30806435@N04/6331109912" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="hectorir" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="55ef58fee4b002d5c07726f8" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30806435@N04/6331109912" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="14" data-vars-position-in-unit="18">hectorir</a>)
5. While The Department Of Labor Protects Unpaid Interns, The Very Organization "Protecting" College Athletes Is Arguably Exploiting Them(05 of11)
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Although the NCAA has rules in place to protect college athletes from financial exploitation, basketball announcer Jay Bilas discovered earlier this year that ShopNCAASports.com was breaking these rules to turn a profit. Meanwhile, unpaid internships must meet certain criteria or are otherwise in violation of the law, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act. (credit:Getty Images)
6. Their "Full" Scholarships Can Come Up Thousands Of Dollars Short, And Athletes Often Have To Pay Just To Finish (06 of11)
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In 2011, the Wall Street Journal reported that the average full scholarship at a Football Bowl Series university came up more than $3,000 short of educational expenses. Most student athletes aren't offered full scholarships anyway, particularly in sports that don't generate revenue. (credit:AP)
7. Scholarships Can Be Taken Away In The Blink Of An Eye (07 of11)
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At least in an unpaid internship, interns generally know the duration of their stint with the company. But a majority of athletic scholarships are granted on an annual basis and require a certain level of academic performance, along with "participation expectations” in the athlete's sport. This means that if a student isn't on his A-Game, he could lose his ability to get an education. (credit:AP)
8. There's No Such Thing As A 40-Hour Workweek In College Sports(08 of11)
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Many organizations strongly encourage employers to keep the amount of hours unpaid interns work below 40 per week. But NCAA rules only require college athletes to have one day off per week during the season, and it isn't until the offseason that players get two days off per week. (credit:AP)
9. Players Are Often Not Protected From Emotional Abuse By The "Boss"(09 of11)
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Unpaid interns in most states are protected against certain forms of discrimination and abuse. But it's only so long in a college game before a coach yells at his players. Despite these public displays, college administrators will often turn a blind eye. (credit:AP)
10. Some "Bosses" Have Been Found To Physically Abuse Them As Well(10 of11)
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A video of the now fired former Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice showed him shoving and hitting players while being generally emotionally abusive. (credit:AP)
11. And Players Risk Their Bodies But Get No Guaranteed Insurance Compensation(11 of11)
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Interns, paid or unpaid, are typically required to be protected under their employer's worker's compensation insurance. Not so for athletes, whose injuries can be career-ending. “College athletes aren’t employees, so there’s no workmen’s compensation," said Bob DeMars, a former defensive lineman for University Of Southern California who got hurt while playing football. (credit:AP)

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