Wendell Carter Jr.'s Mother Compares NCAA's Rules To Slavery, Prison System During Speech

The mother of former Duke standout Wendell Carter Jr. on Monday compared the NCAA’s rules to that of slavery and the prison system during a panel discussion that looked to improve the college athletics program.

Kylia Carter lamented the NCAA’s current system in front of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics in Washington, D.C., which included former San Antonio Spurs star David Robinson, St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli and ESPN analyst Jay Bilas.

"The problem that I see is not with the student-athlete, it’s not with the coaches and the institutions of higher learning, but it’s with a system like the only system I have ever seen where the laborers are the only people that are not being compensated for the work that they do, while those in charge receive mighty compensation," Carter said, according to ESPN.

"The only two systems where I've known that to be in place is slavery and the prison system, and now I see the NCAA as overseers of a system that is identical to that."

Carter, who played women’s basketball at Ole Miss in the late 1980s, claimed that colleges profited from the talent of student athletes and failed to compensate them. She was added to the program Friday after another speaker canceled.

"I think the covers should be pulled back so everyone can see the truth and be aware of what’s really happening to the student-athlete and their families because once these students are recruited to these institutions of higher learning," Carter added.

"At the end of the day, the talent is being purchased, but the talented are not receiving any of the benefit. The colleges are only recruiting the talented kids for their talent. They’re not recruiting them because they will excel academically at their institution."

The Knight Commission’s meeting comes after the Commission on College Basketball, which was chaired by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, released a report in April focused on making changes to the NCAA after the FBI investigated the organization for fraud in 2017.

Wendell Carter played in all 37 games this season for Duke and averaged 13.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. After the Blue Devils lost in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the 19-year-old declared for June’s NBA Draft. Many experts project him to be an early selection in the first round.