Hutchinson Scholar-Athlete Award

 The Hutchinson Scholar-Athlete Awards  awards are given to selected male and female athletes at inner-city schools who have attained excellence in the classroom, a sterling GPA, and in community service activities as well as on the playing field. The awards will serve to remind student-athletes, parents, educators and community stakeholders that academics and sports can and must go hand in hand. This year we have chosen six football players from Dorsey High School as our Football-Scholar award recipients. They have attained the high bench mark of excellence in the classroom and on the field. The award is a commemorative certificate and a cash award to further their studies.

The special emphasis is on sports because this has been the major area of sport where academic performance and graduation rates among football and basketball players. for instance, at inner city schools have been abysmally low. The graduation rate of Black college players has persistently been much lower than that of white football players.

“As a former football player, it has deeply pained me to see the lack of academic emphasis on the part of many high school football players, their parents and coaches. The Hutchinson Football-Scholar awards are intended to serve as both a reward for academic excellence and a motivator for other student-football players to boost their academic performance,” says Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson, “This is especially important give that only 3-4% of high school players get the opportunity to play college football. And 0.02 percent will ever play in the NFL. It is like winning the lottery. But solid classroom performance unlike athletic performance is the best guarantee of a professional and career future for student-football players.”

The awardees will be spotlighted on the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/laurbanpolicyroundtable/