Zion Williamson and the Not-So-Free Market
The biggest star in college basketball is still no match for capitalism’s excesses.
Capitalism, if you haven’t noticed, is not having the best run these days. Heck, in the parlance of our times, you might even say that capitalism is a bit tarnished, and in need of a rebrand. After all, record numbers of young people are identifying as socialists, politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez are capturing the public imagination, everyone’s listening to Chapo Trap House, and according to New York Magazine, disavowing the unfettered power of the free market is the new black!
Oh sure, from a practical perspective, capitalism still controls our entire political system, virtually all of our political leadership, and the entirety of the levers of power. But as a cultural marker? Capitalism is washed folks. Definitely on the way out. Sorry capitalism, you’re canceled.
It’s not that difficult to understand how this happened, of course. Watching the dumbest man alive become the most powerful individual in the world has a strange way of making a society question its politics, its values, and yes, the economic system that underpins it all. Add that to the fact that an entire generation is flailing to find a way to buy a home, pay down their student loans, or even earn a living wage, and more and more young people are beginning to ask what happened to the bountiful prosperity that the free market was supposed to provide. It doesn’t take a Masters in Marxism, after all, to understand that the status quo very plainly isn’t working for the vast majority of Americans, and rather than continuing to tinker around the edges, it’s probably not surprising that historic levels of inequality, coupled with the fact that we are literally a century away from cooking our own planet, has a whole lot of people ready to tear the whole system down.
Amidst all the upheaval, however, it’s worth remembering that this wave of righteous anger isn’t simply about capitalism not working, but rather, as the saying goes, that it’s working exactly as it’s supposed to. It’s working, specifically, for certain types of people, in certain types of roles, enjoying the benefits of a zero-sum-game that has locked those who actually generate wealth completely out of the competition. And if you’re seeking an example within the athletic sphere, look no further than Duke University.
It’s hard to imagine a more apt, more on the nose, “late capitalism” moment than what unfolded on the night of February 20th at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. There, in the opening moments of one of the most anticipated college basketball games in years, with tickets going for $2,000 and up on the resale market, with millions watching at home, and with the President of the United States in attendance, an athlete whose future is unequivocally worth hundreds of millions of dollars, who is inarguably one of the most valuable young prospects that sports has seen in a generation, was felled by a sneaker that resales at about $100 a pair.
That particular shoe, Nike’s Paul George’s PG 2.5 white and blue colorway, came apart at the worst possible moment for Zion Williamson, contributing to a knee injury that most everyone agrees and understands was something of a freak accident. There has not been an epidemic of sneakers coming apart on courts across the country, after all, and it is hard to imagine there are many athletes who put more strain on their footwear than Williamson, the 6 foot 7 inch, 285 pound marvel, who is built like an NFL tight end, but manages to explode off the earth like a pole-vaulter, creating the sort of eruptive highlights that made him one of the biggest hoops superstars in the country, well before he ever set foot on campus at Duke University. Sure, a sneaker designed by the preeminent sportswear brand in the country should be expected to hold up under the intense competition of the finest young athletes in the world, something that Nike itself clearly agreed with, issuing a statement following the game that “the quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
Still, as concerning as the failure, and the resulting injury, may have been, most reasonable observers understood that the real issue wasn’t an unlikely sneaker implosion. Rather, the issue was that said sneaker was all Zion Williamson had to show for his evening in the first place.
One of the most common (and tired) refrains that comes in response to any critique of the NCAA from the left is how, all of a sudden, a group of people who consider themselves critics of capitalism find themselves agitating for more access to it. “Wait a minute,” comes the chorus, “all of the sudden you’re arguing for the free market!? What’s wrong with star athletes having to share the wealth!?”
The answer, of course, is that Zion Williamson and his ilk aren’t sharing anything, but rather, forfeiting it, to a bevy of wealthy interests who are all too happy to take full advantage of their labor. Back in 2015, Duke Athletics and Nike agreed to a 12-year extension of their marketing partnership, and while financial terms were not disclosed, given Duke’s status as a private university, it is safe to assume that the contract provides millions of dollars in equipment and cash, given the terms that have been revealed at public institutions. The more Zion Williamsons come through Cameron, the more money will keep flowing into university coffers, but of course, all that Zion himself will see, for the time being, is tuition remission, room, board, stipend, and of course, fresh pairs of Nikes to step into, if and when he’s ready to finally return to the court.
Capitalism is quite obviously working within big-time college basketball, for the coaches, for the administrators, for the universities themselves that construct more and more lavish gyms, field houses, training rooms, and support facilities, all in the interest of maintaining non-profit status, and keeping pace in the athletic arms race that has come to define modern college sports. The NCAA claims that 90% of the revenue from their 8.8 billion dollar television deal will benefit student-athletes, but the institutions that administer the game have become quite adept at funneling such money to “support” such athletes, just as long as they’re not, you know, actually paid a fair market wage for their efforts.
One can only imagine what such a wage might look like for Williamson, were he truly allowed to take full advantage of the “invisible hand of the market” that we hear so much about from capitalism’s biggest boosters. Suffice it to say that there are very few athletes, not just in college, but in the world, who boast 2.6 million Instagram followers, who command Super Bowl prices for a regular season performance, and who can pull former Presidents away from their Netflix deals and into the arena. By economic impact, Zion Williamson is one of the most productive workers in the world, but he’s still a worker, which means it shouldn’t come as any surprise to see so much of what he generates usurped by forces beyond his control. Hell, one might even be inclined to wonder, if capitalism can’t cut Zion Williamson a fair deal…
What chance does anyone else have?
Capitalism, as one might expect, will not be going anywhere without a fight, and given the noticeable rise in the number of Americans willing to question its fundamental place in our society, it should come as no surprise that our most entrenched, most powerful interests will rally to its defense. Our country’s foremost burger-boy in chief even took time out of his State of the Union, in between scapegoating immigrants and decrying investigations, to stand against the growing leftist movement. “Tonight,” came the predictable backlash, “we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.”
Amidst the usual scare tactics, the rhetorical relics from the cold war era, the cries of “Venezuela!” from those looking to avoid any real discussion of the matters at hand, the new generation of socialists has attempted to move beyond the fear-mongering, and redefine what socialism can really stand for in a progressive vision of the future. Ocasio-Cortez, in particular, has proven adept at reclaiming the term “socialism” by framing it not in opaque, economic jargon, but rather by defining what a Democratic Socialist believes everyone ought to be entitled to.
“I believe that in a modern, moral, and wealthy society, no person in America should be too poor to live,” Ocasio-Cortez explained during a late night television interview with Stephen Colbert, “What that means to me is health care as a human right, it means that every child no matter where you are born should have access to a college or trade-school education if they so choose it. I think that no person should be homeless if we have public structures or public policy to allow for people to have homes and food and lead a dignified life in the United States.”
And sure, at first, second, and third glance, Zion Williamson makes for a pretty strange standard-bearer for the little guy, not merely because of his larger than life presence. In just a few months, he will, in all likelihood, become the #1 pick in the NBA draft, sign the first of many multi-million dollar playing contracts, and ink an apparel deal that will pay him more than many Americans will make in their entire lives. Though they have been delayed by the NBA’s much maligned “one-and-done” rule, (a system that the league appears set to finally eliminate in the coming years), the fruits of capitalism will surely soon flow to Zion Williamson, who figures to become one of the wealthiest athletes in the world. A poster boy for the proletariat, he is not.
But as Duke prepares to enter the postseason with one of the biggest stars at any level of basketball still on the sidelines, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate that yes, even almighty Zion has been wronged by capitalism’s excesses. Despite the superstardom, and the riches on the way, he is still, after all, just 18 years old, barely an adult, and someone who by all accounts, loves his teammates, his coach, and his brief college experience, and presumably wants nothing more than to be out on the court, competing for a national title, and participating in one of the most unique spectacles in all of sports. He shouldn’t have to put his health at risk as a part of a system that denies him what he’s worth. He shouldn’t be forced to choose between his future fortune, and his present-day value. Zion Williamson is labor, after all, and he is entitled to all he creates.
It’s just like the old saying goes, there are no ethical Dukies under capitalism.
