Florida CB Jalen Tabor calls lack of student-athlete pay a ‘modern form of slavery’

By Adam Silverstein
January 19, 2016

Florida Gators sophomore cornerback Jalen Tabor is one of the best players on his team. Over the course of his two years in Gainesville, Florida, he’s also been one of the most outspoken.

That was certainly the case Tuesday when, after learning that the Southeastern Conference earned a record $527.4 million in the 2014-15 season due to monies from the College Football Playoff and SEC Network, Tabor wrote the following on Twitter:


“The SEC Made 527.4 Million in Total Revenue and Players Ain’t Get A Penny . Modern Form Of Slavery.”

Tabor is certainly not the first to refer to the plight of the student-athlete in such drastic terms, though this is far from the first time the player has put something out on social media without considering the consequences of his actions.

He also happens to be wrong that “players ain’t get a penny,” because technically, they are now getting what some believe amounts to a penny.

Florida players were eligible to receive $3,830 this season in an additional cost of attendance stipend that goes beyond their general scholarship. The school budgeted $1 million towards paying players these stipends for the 2015-16 academic year.

It should be noted that less than 40 minutes after sending his initial tweet, Tabor understood his analogy took things to an unnecessary level. “Went to far with slavery I can admit I’m wrong on that,” he wrote on Twitter. “But y’all get the message .” He later sent another similar tweet, “Went to far with the slavery thing and I apologize , can’t let my emotions get to me . But y’all get the message”

That did not change his enthusiasm on the subject, however, as Tabor retweeted a bunch of responses that agreed with his stance, including an Instagram post from Gators redshirt junior defensive tackle Caleb Brantley, which included a cartoon of former Georgia running back Todd Gurley.

Last September, Tabor created a stir on Twitter when he claimed in a series of three tweets, “All Media Is Good Media ! … Never believe what you read , uf athletic association sucks ! 🙁 … But I’ll be back next week #gogators”

Those tweets came in response to reports that he was suspended for a game for refusing to take a drug test.

Tabor’s family claimed that the Twitter account, which due to website policy will not be published on OnlyGators.com due to the player still being a member of the team, did not belong to Tabor … but it does.

It should also be noted that Tabor is one of the most open and honest players on the Gators’ football team, though one wonders whether Florida will continue making him available to the media as often if he continues to create controversy with his social media account.

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