The latest episode of HBO's Real Sports provides a strong reality check for fans swept up with bracket busters and March Madness. Although the NCAA uses its billion-dollar basketball tournament to pump up how it is helping athletes, here's one message that's omitted from those feel-good segments:
If athletes gets hurt while representing their university, treatment for the injury is covered only while they're still students. Once they are done with the school, they must start paying the medical bills even though those injuries were sustained while on campus.
The NCAA's decision to designate these players "student-athletes" gives it legal cover to not pay workman's compensation either. Here's a preview of the Real Sports report with correspondent Bernard Goldberg that premieres Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT:
