Houston Texans star Arian Foster tells Sports Illustrated he took money while at Tennessee and he fully believes NCAA athletes, especially football and basketball players, should be compensated for their labor.
In a documentary entitled The Price of College Sports, Foster openly discusses with producers what SI deemed "his dire financial straits" and "receiving money during his senior season."
"I don't know if this will throw us into an NCAA investigation -- my senior year, I was getting money on the side," SI quoted Foster as saying. "I really didn't have any money. I had to either pay the rent or buy some food. I remember the feeling of like, 'Man, be careful.' But there's nothing wrong with it. And you're not going to convince me that there is something wrong with it."
Foster intimates to the magazine that even now he has no regrets, adding "there were plenty of times where throughout the month I didn't have enough for food, Our stadium had like 107,000 seats; 107,000 people buying a ticket to come watch us play. It's tough just like knowing that, being aware of that. We had just won and I had a good game, 100 yards or whatever You go outside and there's hundreds of kids waiting for you. You're signing autographs, taking pictures, whatever.
"Then I walk back, and reality sets in. I go to my dorm room, open my fridge, and there's nothing in my fridge."
Foster also opens up about a time when he remembers calling his Coach to tell him of his plight.
"I said, 'Coach, we don't have no food. We don't have no money. We're hungry. Either you give us some food, or I'm gonna go do something stupid.' He came down and he brought like 50 tacos for like four or five of us... But then, the next day I walk up to the facility and I see my coach pull up in a brand new Lexus. Beautiful."
SI reports Foster later added "I'm a firm believer that an employee should get paid for his work. And 100 percent I see student athletes as employees. Hiding from it is just cowardly.
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