Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones drew scrutiny a few years ago when he tweeted out: “Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain’t come to play SCHOOL, classes are POINTLESS”. The crude nature of the post didn’t remove the larger message — there are countless athletes at big-name programs for whom school is not a real priority. Sixers stud Ben Simmons seems to sympathize with that line of thinking. Dealing with snarky replies to his debate tweet last night, he admitted to skipping class while at LSU: Simmons’ academic struggles are no secret. It came out earlier this year that he didn’t “have the necessary criteria to be eligible” despite his superlative performance on the basketball court. But rather than serving to shame Simmons, this only seems to highlight the absurdity of forcing kids who have no interest in school to attend classes to begin with.

While it has helped NBA teams avoid swinging and missing on high-school players, the one-and-done rule is a transparent attempt to protect the league’s interests before that of the individual. Much like the implementation of max contracts and length limits, the rule was put forth primarily to minimize risk for NBA franchises. The league gives lip service to the idea of prioritizing player development, but it’s little more than lip service. Most players should not make the jump out of high school from a readiness perspective, but it should be their choice whether to do so or not. Earning potential is already capped for athletes because of the short span of their careers. Exacerbating that by artificially pushing back the timing of their second contract does a disservice to players who are ready to go pro. All of this wouldn’t matter as much if the NCAA’s rules weren’t archaic regarding athletes making money away from the court.

Simmons complained about how the organization and media outlets profited off his name for his upcoming documentary. Don’t let this overshadow the hilarious quip that came before it: “I have to be getting better every day, I’m not worried about my oceanography class.” To claim players need more seasoning before they enter the league is admirable enough. The idea loses steam when they players are funneled toward a system and overarching organization who exploit the benefits of their labor without allowing the individuals to market and profit themselves on the side. The guise of “paying for their education” falls apart upon inspection of the classes and majors they’re pushed toward.

Players like Simmons help fund major athletic programs around the country. The NBA’s one-and-done rule doesn’t explicitly force prospects to go to college, but the professional, overseas path is uncharted water at best. Emmanuel Mudiay and Brandon Jennings were success stories for that route, but there’s inherent risk assumed when traveling to foreign countries to try to make things work. This is particularly true for teenagers whose development isn’t as important as their production for coaches abroad. Therein lies the problem — if the NBA believes forcing mega-prospects to wait another year is about development, realistically the NCAA is the only place they’ll get treated like developmental projects. In many of Europe’s top leagues, the brightest young talent plays second (or even third) fiddle to veterans, causing prospects to miss out on important minutes. This creates a choice of sorts — does a prospect like Simmons want money, or does he want to be part of a college program that will pay more attention to his development, even through on-court struggles?

A teenager with one-percenter talent shouldn’t have to choose one or the other. Maybe we should be thankful for the rule, because without it Simmons might not be on the Sixers to begin with.

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But forcing players like him to go through a year-long charade just so they can arrive at a pre-determined destination is ridiculous.

Officially, my title is the Associate Professor and the Kahandas Nandola Professor of Sport Administration at Ohio University. I earned a Masters of Sports Administration/Facility Management degree from Ohio in 1995 and was also assistant wrestling coach.

Prior, I directed the graduate sports administration program at Mississippi State University. I worked in intercollegiate athletic administration including eight years at Marshall University as an Adjunct Professor of Sport Management and Marketing, and Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance.

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My first job in sports was at Weber State University as Assistant Director of Marketing and Director of Compliance. I received a BA in Speech Communication from Colorado State University in 1990 and served in the Army for 12 years. I received a Doctor of Education in from West Virginia University in 2002. I have been retained as an expert in litigation involving college sports issues and I am regularly interviewed on issues in college sports in international and national media.

The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

One and Done Is Not The Problem-It Is How It Is Managed and Lack of Other Options Ben Simmons has certainly made news consistently since he burst on the sports scene at Louisiana State University as a freshman basketball phenom from Australia. Simmons is currently injured which has delayed his much anticipated NBA debut for the Philadelphia 76ers. However sitting on the bench and recuperating is not the only thing Simmons has been doing. He is also the subject of the current Showtime documentary entitled “One and Done.” One and Done predictably discusses Simmons path from Australia, to an American high school in Orlando, Florida and his eventual less than one year enrollment at LSU as what some people may call an “infamous” one and done player. The documentary does highlight some things and/or problems that many may have with the one and done system and how it benefits both the NCAA and NBA, but arguably makes a mockery of higher education and the sole called educational purpose of intercollegiate athletics.

The current NBA collective bargaining agreement mandates that a player must be 19 years old to declare for the NBA draft. Essentially this means that anyone who desires to play in the NBA likely has a year or more of time to wait until age eligible for the draft. Technically this is an NBA rule. It was collectively bargained, it helps current players from losing their roster spots from up and coming college players like Kobe and Lebron were able to prior to this rule, but moreover the NCAA is the best developmental basketball league in the world. It is no wonder that players want to season and improve their game by playing American college basketball, if even for a short time rather than any other existing professional options outside America or even the National Basketball Developmental League (NBDL). CAMDEN, NJ – SEPTEMBER 26: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers spins a basketball on his finger during media day on September 26, 2016 in Camden, New Jersey.

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) The NCAA tries to run away from this rule and technically it is not their rule but make no mistake, it is a tremendous benefit to the NCAA and its primary membership cash cow-March Madness. While people like current NCAA president Mark Emmert might say they don’t like this provision and they want the NBA to get rid of it, there is no sense of urgency to do so, plus there are a few other options, albiet not as good as playing one year of college basketball at the highest level. “The one and done rule is something I’ve made no secret about how much I dislike it.

It makes a farce of going to school, but if you just want to play in the NBA you can do that,” Emmert said. He also added that the NCAA has made is clear to the NBA that the rule should be changed. Rhetoric is one thing and action is another and there are several things the NCAA membership can do, if they want-which is something I am not convinced of. When Myles Brand was President of the NCAA he often talked about the one and done being about education and that the exposure to education was valuable, despite there being not much exposure to education and the fact that people in the situation like Simmons will simply drop out of school when the season is over not even completing one academic year. The only requirement is meeting very achievable initial eligibility standards and passing six hours in the fall semester/quarter. Not very stringent or challenging, plus no school is going to let a Ben Simmons type fail. The NCAA could make it very difficult for the NBA to continue to use its free farm system through a one and done format.

The NCAA membership could enforce stricter academic standards including proposal that would require freshman ineligibility for all athletes who academic entrance criteria is more than one standard deviation below the incoming freshman class. It could also mandate that the school will lose a scholarship if at least one complete academic year is not finished as an eligible athlete. Better yet it could actually work with the NBA and NBDL to develop a “baseball rule” for college basketball that will allow players of any age to enter draft prior to college and if drafted it is their choice to go pro then. If not, or if the choice is made to go to college, then they are not eligible for the draft for three years.

This of course assumes that institutions would enforce academic standards but that is another story. Even though these ideas are much better than what we have now, let’s focus on ways to make this system better for everyone-but mostly for the athlete. Let The Athlete Choose Personally, while the ideas above are better, I do not believe an athlete should be restricted in any way from attempting to go professional when they feel they are able. This includes letting high school players enter the NBA draft. College basketball did not die because Kobe and LeBron-amongst others, went pro. Even for the ones that bombed and didn’t make it, that is life. You need to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and move on to the next thing, such as college where in America anyone can go to college if they want to.

For the other players that do make it, the NBA can take a page from MLB and assist players with getting a degree or completing one that they have started. For players that are not quite good enough either coming in from high school or after how ever much college or external experience they may have, then the NBA needs to take on a larger role of player development themselves and take the stress off the educational system-kind of like-you guessed it-Major League Baseball. While Emmert correctly asserts that the athlete has to make a choice to be a student and an athlete, the eligibility maintenance system in place only encourages doing the academic minimum for one semester and leaving after the season ends. Staying a short time on campus is not the issue to me as other students do it all of the time, but the outrageous lie that this has anything to do with education is my problem. This is about player development for the NBA and getting the best players for the NCAA even if only for one year so it can maximize revenue and winning-period.

Just call it what it is-we will still watch. There is a template out there to make this more educationally and developmentally better. A player can still go to college for one day or five years. We don’t restrict movie stars or other entrepreneurs from leaving school early and realizing success.

Here at Ohio University we had an internet star by the name of who earned hundreds of thousands of dollars through targeted Vines and he left school prior to graduation to go to Los Angeles and pursue his dreams. We are not up in arms about that and we should not be upset when an athlete wants to maximize their talent at the height of one’s ability and marketability. It should be their choice, but if the choice is college then the first priority must be academic integrity and attempting to provide the educational exposure that Myles Brand and others continually touted.

I don’t feel sorry for Simmons in any way. As an Australian, he definitely had other options to go pro down under or elsewhere, but even he admits that the NCAA developed him more as a player, and he made a decision to do it. Since he did, he should be an actual student and not a hired guy. He still can get the development and experience he desires. It this system remains in place then we must also provide more options and access via other developmental systems if he was not interested in going to school.

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The faculty and others on any institutional campus can help change this-if it truly is a problem, if not keep it the same, but just don’t lie about it. Call it a one year internship or vocational training-just don’t call it primarily and educational endeavor. Overall the fans, NCAA, TV networks etc. Could care less if they are going to class. Change Can Be Good Other options for basketball player development are available and candidly there need to be more including the NBA having more options for players who want to maximize their athletic utility and earning potential and forgo all or some of college.

In turn the NCAA and NBA can provide continuing education options and financing for these athletes to use once their playing days are over. It can be in job and vocational training as well as a traditional college degree. In other words-an educational experience that someone can truly fall back on for success in life, not a manufactured or shortened educational experience that maximizes our entertainment without providing choices and options that gives the athlete a chance to succeed personally, professionally and educationally. The worst thing we can do is nothing and just focus on the one and done. Instead give the athletes more choices and ability to get an education later if desired. There are many ways to make this better for college basketball and the pro leagues-we just have to want to do it.

Is the Kahandas Nandola Professor of Sports Business at Ohio University in the Department of Sports Administration in Athens, Ohio. Follow him on twitter.