Michigan Wolverines defensive back Jabril Peppers is not happy with the NCAA, and wasn’t hesitant to put his feelings out in public. Per statements on his personal Twitter page, Peppers does not have enough to eat in his apartment and is blaming the NCAA and their “indentured servant checks.”
Idk how the NCAA thinks we supposed to eat right with these lil indentured servant checks they give us..I Should've stayed in the dorms smh
— JP (@JabrillPeppers) May 27, 2015
I'm about to eat my first meal of the day & that's Oodles and noodles smh
— JP (@JabrillPeppers) May 27, 2015
It ain't funny bro lol I'm over here hurting, this my last one out the 12 pack https://t.co/Ql15LDRpKS
— JP (@JabrillPeppers) May 27, 2015
https://twitter.com/JabrillPeppers/status/603360281872441344
https://twitter.com/JabrillPeppers/status/603366830502207489
Oh, and apparently Peppers wasn’t done this morning, either.
People make a story out of anything. Idc about getting paid, I just wanna keep my fridge & cabinets full so I can eat. Point blank.
— JP (@JabrillPeppers) May 27, 2015
It’s hard to argue against Peppers’ point. Yes, the NCAA did indeed approve “unlimited meals and snacks” for all of its student athletes, but something must not be right since Peppers claims certain “loopholes,” and it appears a report by ESPN may have found it.
Schools have been allowed to provide three meals per day or a stipend for those meals to scholarship athletes. The new rule would allow walk-ons to receive the same allowances and would allow schools to provide more meals and snacks, too.
“I don’t think we need someone worrying on our behalf that we’re either underfeeding or overfeeding our athletes,” Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon told ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell. “Hopefully we can figure it out all by ourselves. Institutions should be able to recognize from a budget sensibility what constitutes reasonable limits. That’s why I think this deregulating is a good plan.”
There we have it. It appears certain schools, Michigan included, are continuing the practice of providing unlimited meals OR a stipend, not both. I remember when I was in college, students who didn’t live in the dorms were NOT on a standard meal plan, but something called Dining Bucks.
This meant that students, be they on scholarship or not, were given a certain amount of money per semester to spend on meals, but that money could also be used for other expenses like books, toiletries, etc. If that money ran out before semester’s end, students either had to put more money on the card and thus add to their tuition bill, or else get creative. Based on Peppers’ comments, this writer wonders if Michigan uses a similar system.
Regardless of what Michigan is doing, it’s clear that the NCAA has dropped the ball in some way, shape or form. Unlimited meals and snacks have been allowed for student athletes, and it’s clear that something is preventing Peppers from having just that. He’s listed at 6’1″, 205 pounds, so one pack of Ramen noodles isn’t going to be enough for him or any athlete to eat in one day.
That said, the NCAA once again finds itself at a crossroads. It can either dig deeper into Peppers’ comments and adopt new policy that increases stipends so that student athletes can feed themselves, or it can stand pat and once again risk having another athlete repeat what former UConn guard Shabazz Napier said two years ago.
Michigan opens its first season under Jim Harbaugh against Utah on September 3.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
