A
story in The Wall Street Journal sent to us by
sirrunsalot tells the tale of Romeo Miller – better known as Lil’ Romeo, son of hip-hop mogul Master P – and how he’s leveraged stardom and money to earn a basketball scholarship to the University of Southern California.
By most accounts, Miller is an average high school basketball player, averaging 8.6 points per game with a relatively small stature – 5 foot 10 inches and 160 pounds. But he has been awarded one of the 13 scholarships that the basketball program is allowed to offer; over what the WSJ describes as many more qualified and underprivileged prospects.
USC’s coach Tim Floyd makes no frills about why Miller is getting a scholarship. He said, "We may have more 11- to 17-year-old girls in the stands than we've had in the past."
While Romeo may indeed sell more tickets, the decision could certainly paint USC in a very negative light. On the other hand, it is a private institution, so, they’re not using public funds to seek stardom at the expense of an opportunity that could be offered to someone more deserving.
Is this just more proof that life isn’t always fair, or is USC setting a horrible precedent?
