Gladwell? Really?

One of my favorite authors, Malcom Gladwell (Author of Blink and The Tipping Point) chimes in today about the NCAA, and uses the Oklahoma case of Rhett Bomar as an example. Gladwell's point is a similar one that's been made before- everyon makes money off of college athletics EXCEPT college athletes. You can check it out here:
gladwell.com.

There is some ignorance here on Gladwell's part (he's Canadian, and they play football differently), and he doesn't understand the issue of college boosters and their ilk. But he does raise a good question about what some people have called the 'plantation system' that profits off of college aged adults at a significantly greater extent than the students receive- at the biggest schools, graduation rates are abysmal, and athletes are often not able to attend classes due to their practice and game schedule (especially true in basketball).

So, as the season kicks off, it's important to keep some perspective about what message all of this is sending- are we affirming co-curricular events involving student athletes, or are we supporting a much larger institutional phenomonon that has nothing to do with higher education?