[uberman]

Athletes getting preferential treatment during admissions is as old as alumni giving. You cannot separate one from the other. Families have known this for generations and take steps to optimize for it just as they do with SAT prep. The resulting reality is that every collegiate sport is ultimately a "rich kid sport". Just as SAT prep, orchestra and debate are "rich kid activities".

The author suggests that no one falls into the river and comes out a water polo star. The same is true for every varsity sport and every varisty player regardless of ethnicity. No one stumbles onto the hard top and pick themselves up as a D1 basketball player either.

It takes talent, hard work and yes money/time for training, club/travel teams and equipment. Facts that the family of every varsity athlete knows all too well.

With the hours my daughter puts into practice and travel (yes she plays a rich white sport apparently) it is a minor miracle she can maintain her k-12 grades at all, yet she does. If she ends up playing for her college it will mean hundreds of hours of practice and play on their behalf while being forced to maintain her GPA. If she were to be injured while representing her college she would likely not be covered by the college healthcare in any way and would likely loose her scholarship. Interestingly enough the same source (The Atlantic) has an article on exactly this (https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/05/i-...)

Considering what colleges are potentially asking and expecting from their athletes, do I think it would be inappropriate to favor them against non-athletes during admissions? No, I don't.