Rutgers Professor From Atlantic City Educates Athletes About Future Beyond Sports

A Rutgers University professor is teaching a course designed to educate student athletes about their options beyond college athletics by examining the influence of American economics, history and politics on the psychological and social development of African American males, according to a Rutgers Today feature.

John Paxton, of Atlantic City, teaches a course called “Blacks and Economic Structures” at the University. He relays a message he learned in eighth grade: Knees give out, but brains don’t.

He attempts to relay the message that just 1.7 percent of NCAA football players make the transition from college to the NFL; 1.2 percent of men’s college basketball players make the jump to the NBA; and 0.9 percent of women’s college basketball players play in the WNBA.

There are also no guarantees for those who do get drafted by professional teams.

Males regularly out number females in the course by a ratio of 6 to 1, according to the report.

Paxton grew up in Atlantic City, where his family was robbed five times and his best friend was murdered at the age of 15, according to the report.

He escaped these surroundings to attend Rutgers in New Brunswick. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, according to the report.