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NCAA tournament sites feature sign about ‘dumb jocks’

Well, no, not until you said something.

The message on the sideline video screen above has been flashing at various sites during the 2012 NCAA tournament. It asks viewers, "Still think we're a bunch of dumb jocks?" and guides them to a website featuring a YouTube clip on the subject.

The timing of the message, days after Syracuse suspended Fab Melo due to academic issues, is unfortunate. It's as if the NCAA asked itself, "What question will inspire the most jokes from people watching the game at bars?"

The overall tenor of the PSA makes less sense. Do people turn on the NCAA tournament and think "dumb jocks"? Is that still a thing that happens? I'd wager that most people watching the tournament either (accurately) don't believe that or don't care. If people do believe it, they're probably not watching the tournament in the first place.

But so what if they do? Is having a few people buying into a misconception better than reminding everyone that said misconception exists? In trying to knock down the stereotype, all the NCAA did was reinforce it.

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