Alexander Warden of Overtime
After losing my scholarship I didn’t know what to do. Football was my life. What I didn’t know at the time was that my purpose was much bigger. After a few months of depression I decided to serve my country as an airmen in the Air Force. While the wound was still fresh I reflected on how I got from the top of the mountain to cleaning toilets at 2am. During my free time I wrote to clear my thoughts. From the bed of my barracks I created Overtime a rendition and culmination of my life as a student-athlete; and in the collegiate sports milieu it was the perfect project to spare head the question- should student-athletes get paid? A few years after I finished my bachelors and applied for law school.
Kobe Bryant once said “ ‘I’ve failed’ if basketball is my biggest accomplishment”. This story isn’t mine, It’s the story of millions. Millions of student-athletes that succeed and fail. Finding the inspiration, storyline and theme of this project is my upward ride on my “life roller coaster”. Through defeat I found a victory. My hope is that this project will spark the conversation to drop the amateur label for DI student-athletes that produce millions of dollars in revenue for their respective schools and guide inner-city youth to purse athletics in the right way.
