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Home > Jeff Schultz > Archives > 2008 > May > 14 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USDifficult to punish greedy amateur athletes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Imagine that you have a gift, but you are surrounded by ruin. Bad neighborhood. Little money. A single mom who works three jobs and does the best she can in the 30 minutes a day she sees you.
Then one day somebody in a nice suit, let’s say with a hint of brimstone, shakes your hand and leaves you with a roll of bills. He slips you an ATM card, a phone, a watch. A plasma TV lands on your doorstep.
It’s all against the rules. But you figure this part of your life is only a brief stopover.
Nobody cares.
Everybody does it.
Nobody gets hurt.
Check that — you don’t get hurt. And really, does anybody else matter?
It’s happening again.
Strong allegations have been leveled against a young college athlete, this time former USC basketball star O.J. Mayo. They involve the usual schemes and payoffs and circle of leeches.
If any of what has been charged is true, USC, which already is under investigation for similar allegations involving former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, almost certainly will go on probation. But blame is being spread everywhere. Agents. Advisers. Shoe companies. AAU basketball. The NCAA. The NBA. The lame one-and-done rule that doesn’t fix anything as much as it further exposes a gifted, hungry teenager to the underbelly of “amateur” athletics.
Everybody at some point will take a hit. Everybody except O.J. Mayo.
If Mayo is found to have taken some $30,000, as was outlined in an ESPN report, the NCAA won’t be able to touch him. He’ll be in the NBA by the time the investigation concludes. The NBA certainly couldn’t do anything. No league rule would have been broken.
Mayo falls into that gray zone, like Bush, like so many others. Chris Webber initially lied about taking money from booster Ed Martin at Michigan. The school eventually was forced to vacate victories, went on four years probation and took down banners from two Final Fours. Michigan also was told to disassociate itself from Webber and three former teammates for 10 years.
This isn’t to suggest that the student-athlete should be the prime target for punishment. All parties should share blame. But only one party can operate without any threat of ramifications. Schools get probation. Agents can lose accreditation or even face criminal charges. Coaches can lose jobs. Sanctions can follow them from school to school (as was the case with Kelvin Sampson).
But the kid? He only gets rich.
He is not breaking any law. But he is pulling out the bottom brick, causing an entire structure to collapse. Something is wrong with that.
The NCAA said it is concerned but is essentially powerless.
There might be a way to solve this. Scholarships essentially are one-year grants, renewable if an athlete is in good academic standing. It sounds an awful lot like a contract. Contracts can have clauses. Clauses like: “If you take money and we find out and then land on probation, we can come after you for damages.
But for the NCAA to take the step of signing student-athletes to contracts would mean acknowledging that they are employees. That would mean they couldn’t maintain this farcical notion of amateur athletics — TV contracts, jersey sales and all evidence to the contrary.
Georgia Tech athletics director Dan Radakovich acknowledged a problem exists but isn’t sure what can be done, short of a school filing a civil suit in an effort to claim damages.
“The people at West Virginia are basically saying they were damaged by the fact Rich Rodriguez left,” Radakovich said. “But if they went to court, it would be difficult for West Virginia to prove damages in the short run. They’re still playing games. They’re still selling tickets. How do you prove you’re damaged by $4 million?
“If an athlete does something in the NBA, they can fine him, suspend him, terminate his contract. About the only thing a college can do is throw him out. But if a student-athlete is leaving anyway, that’s not going to do much good.”
USC figures to pay a price. But Bush already is swimming in riches in New Orleans. Mayo will be a lottery pick. Their fingerprints could be everywhere, but it wouldn’t matter. When the NCAA holds a news conference, they can watch it on a plasma.
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Comments
By Mr. Know-it-all
May 14, 2008 7:49 PM | Link to this
Amateur athletes should take what they can get, when they can get it. It is hypocrisy when schools, coaches, and companies can profit from the sale of OJ Mayo jerseys, but OJ cannot. If OJ blows out a knee, all he’s left with is his plasma TV and a better wardrobe than before he was discovered and for every OJ that is a lottery pick there are many others that are discarded to the trash heap and end up having to scrape by.
Shame on Mike Garrett and USC for allowing Tim Floyd to “recruit” Mayo. It isn’t like these are revelations. OJ had a somewhat toxic reputation from his schoolboy and AAU days. USC decided to roll the dice and they got burned.
Good for OJ. Cash in on your talents, because everyone else is.
By Najeh Davenpoop
May 14, 2008 9:17 PM | Link to this
I can’t wait for the first top high school basketball player to say screw the NCAA, I’m going to Euroleague for a year where I can sign a real contract that has some kind of insurance against future injury, get paid for a year, develop under superior coaches, play against superior competition, and join the NBA after one season — avoiding both the idiotic age limit AND the substandard, corrupt, hypocritical NCAA. I am gonna enjoy seeing these morons sob and wail about how these guys are missing out on the “college experience” or “growing up into a man” or some other non-existent BS catchphrase. I am gonna enjoy seeing Dickie V predict that every high school-to-Euroleague-toNBA player will be a bust and getting proven wrong every year.
Too bad that can only work for basketball players… college football players, looks like y’all are pretty much on your own. The only thing wrong with what OJ Mayo did is that he’s getting in trouble for it now.
By nahjay davnpooh
May 14, 2008 9:23 PM | Link to this
i think black people should be executed for accepting gifts.
By Tokyo Tom
May 15, 2008 12:12 AM | Link to this
Nahjay- Your act is soooo olde…
For all Know-it-Alls: I can’t defend coachs & their rich contracts; for the schools, please remember that the income gained from football and basketball is used to fund ALL of the other intercollegiate sports at a university. With rare exceptions like maybe the Gym Dogs or the Lady Vols, the other mens & womens sports team are money-losing propositions. The income the the Athletic Associations gain from the TV, Ticket, contributions, Bowl Game, and BB tournaments go to provide facilities, training, & scholarships for the other student athletes on campus, not to “The Man” or some cabal of investors. When someone asks where is the money going, show them all the other student-athletes on campus.
With that being said, some sort of stipend program should be allowed and offered- I’ll open Pandora’s Box some other time
By nahjay davnpooh
May 15, 2008 1:59 AM | Link to this
najeh, you are so damn ignorant, son. no euroleague team is going to sign a kid to a one-year contract and let him bolt. and you don’t think stern is smart enough to set a few rules to combat that strategy.
By Ghost of Furman Bisher
May 15, 2008 2:26 AM | Link to this
All I know is we didn’t have this problem when Pistol Pete was aiming shots at a peach basket tacked up on a pole in the backyard.
By nahjay davnpooh
May 15, 2008 3:39 AM | Link to this
yeah ghost but we have the problem now with ignorant thugs that are stupid and incapable of higher learning and who aim shots in the air at strip clubs (i.e. stephen jackson).
By Roswell Ed
May 15, 2008 8:27 AM | Link to this
Don’t blame Mayo or Bush.
You have to blame the schools.
They know the economical situations from which these kids come.
When they show up driving a $40,000 car an alarm should go off somewhere.
By Keeping It Real
May 15, 2008 9:30 AM | Link to this
The kids should get paid. College athletics is a business…period. Why should the schools, coaches, athletic directors,etc, get millions while the kids get nothing. Every one is ripping off the kids and their families especially if they are low income families. The age of the student athlete left with the big TV contracts and the millions of dollars generated.
By Mr. Know-it-all
May 15, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this
If you think Pistol Pete was playing only for the love of the game, keep hitting that bottle Jack in your desk drawer, Ghost of Furman.
Big sports fund small sports. Got it. Big sports fund facilities and scholarships for all athletes. Got it.
The only problem is what happens to big sport worker-bee from low income family who had little or no support system to help him develop study habits. Johnny goes to Football U, can’t hack a typical freshman course load so he has to take “Theory of Basketball” taught by Jim Harrick Jr, gets crack-backed during practice by one of the other worker-bees and his 40 time is never the same. Some Lou-Holtz-Wannabe decides Johnny’s not worth keeping around so he gets flushed.
Back home he can follow in the family tradition of working at the plant… no wait, he can’t do that because some NAFTA-loving bean-counter in Manhattan shut it down to move production south of the border.
Johnny needn’t worry about funding non-revenue-producing sports at Football U. Johnny needs to look out for number 1, because nobody else is.
If only every 18 year old had a Mom and Dad that had checked his/her homework, made sure he/she wasn’t drinking and driving, or having unsafe sex. Just because you had that don’t presume to know what is best for those that didn’t.
By Mr. Know-it-all
May 15, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this
Oh, and Jeff, I don’t consider OJ to be greedy. Savvy.
By Najeh Davendump
May 15, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this
there is plenty of blame to go around, but start with the ncaa for pretending they don’t know this stuff is going on everywhere.
By coach E
May 15, 2008 11:49 AM | Link to this
Jeff, you have lost your mind. College sports pips the kids, is a multi-billion dollar business and you really think $30K to a kid is wrong? you sound very jealous?
By Ralph McGill
May 15, 2008 1:32 PM | Link to this
Hey Jeff - why no column or smarty remarks on Joe Hamilton? Its almost as if you are a Tech “homer” that has come out of the closet.
You know you would have crucified UGA if it had been the Dogs.
By mr. bill
May 15, 2008 1:39 PM | Link to this
Isn’t a free education, a college degree, lesson’s from a top notch coach, showcasing talents on a national stage, free room and board, academic assistance, etc, etc. enough compensation?? Lets not forget, very very few make it to the pro level and receive compensation for the their talents. Lets also not forget many make to the pros after honing skills and becoming superstars during their college years. The overwhelming majority is best served by pursuing an education while pursuing a pro career in sports. Lets not let a few standouts like Mayo, Bush, Webber etc. dictate policy on how student athletes should be compensated and/or punished after breaking the rules. Lets keep it simple. You break the rules there are consequences at all levels.
By Keeping It Real
May 15, 2008 2:44 PM | Link to this
Mr. Bill,
You need to get real. Not everyone is cut out to be a good college student. Money is the name of the game. I don’t know about you, but I went to college to make more money. If I had the talent that these kids have, I would take the money and never look back.
As for breaking the rules, if you change them and remove the plantation philosophy of the NCAA, there would be no violations as the kids would at least share some of the loot being taken in by the greedy administrators. These kids have worked hard developing their skills. Since this is a market driven society we live in, I say more power(and money) to them. That is our enterprise system. You take your chances to be successful. I would much rather get paid than get injured while playing for free and losing all the benefits of getting the opportunity for a free education. Where do you think Ray Odum would be had he remained at Ohio State?
Dwight Howard, Labron James, Koby Bryant and Kevin Garnett are doing pretty good and they did not waste their time and lose money by going to college for a good education. Seems like these kids are much smarter than you and I. We are hung up working 10 hour days for eight hours pay under the threat of outsourcing our jobs to India and China.
Mr. Mayo, get yourself a good acountant and a lawyer and enjoy your life of wealth. You have earned it.
By Lil E
May 15, 2008 5:14 PM | Link to this
I can’t believe Jeff called amateur athletes greedy. It’s the NCAA that’s greedy.
By reeses_peace
May 15, 2008 7:05 PM | Link to this
How come only two pro sports have minimum age requirements? Do you think it’s a coincidence that they also happen to be the big revenue college sports—basketball and football. The NHL and MLB don’t have age requirements. Neither do the PGA or USTA.
College football, Basketball, and the NCAA are motivated by the same demon as pro sports——-$$$$$$$.
The age limit is a joke. Davenpoop is right, OJ Mayo should have played ball in Europe and so should the other pro prospects. They’d probably learn more in their year over seas than they would in a year at the local university anyway.
One other question, How much did OJ Mayo’s attendance at USC earn the University and NCAA for that matter? I’m willing to bet that it far exceeded his scholarship and the money he allegedly received under the table.
By Lil E
May 15, 2008 7:16 PM | Link to this
I’d be willing to bet that OJ Mayo himself earned USC atleast a couple of hundred thousand through attendance and national coverage of the basketball games. USC basketball had been irrelevent before he decided to go to school there. Also, I’d be willing to bet that most major schools make enough money from their football and basketball programs to sponsor all the other sports and then some. Let’s not forget the thousands of dollars all students pay (either directly or through scholarships/grants/loans) to go to school in the first place. What makes this all the more corrupt is David Stern cooperates with the NCAA, forcing these players to go to college.
By mr. bill
May 15, 2008 8:06 PM | Link to this
Keepin it real,
I agree with you. In a capitalist society an athlete at any age should be able to capitalize on his/her talent and marketability, especially an adult 18 years of age. It should be their choice. If and 18 yr old can choose to join the US army and go to war he darn well should also be able to decide whether to he wants to attend college. One and done is a joke.
My point was to address student athletes receiving ample compensation from the university in form of scholarship, room, board, degree etc. and therefore are not entitled to be paid $$. We don’t want to start paying students to play.
By nahjay davnpooh
May 16, 2008 2:59 AM | Link to this
how is the ncaa greedy? they’re letting these worthless excuse for humans, these THUGS, walk roam their campuses and loot FOR FREE while those who aren’t athletically gifted, but instead, mentally gifted, have to pay.
you know what? just ban the thugs from college and uphold the nba rule that you must play 2 years in college. then who will you stupid THUGS turn to?
IDIOTS.
By Concerned
May 16, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this
Tokyo Tom-
If you think the Gym Dogs come anywhere close to breaking even, you are sadly mistaken. They, just like everything not football and men’s basketball, is bleeding to death (Lady Vols and LSU baseball are possible exceptions).
Women’s bball is next in line to break even. The reason they are next is because of the TV contract - which happens to get bigger each year. Attendance, in non-revenue sports, is hardly ever the most important issue when it comes to money…TV revenue is. The Gym Dogs are a bottomless pit just like most every sport within the athletic department except football and men’s bball.
By 1Love
May 16, 2008 11:05 AM | Link to this
hmmmmm.
I have a hard time with the NCAA’s answer: The NCAA says it is essentially powerless.
HA!
I bet we won’t hear that one again for awhile.
By tyger
May 16, 2008 12:28 PM | Link to this
The athletes should “work for free” for the good of the institution or amateurism while the administrators rake in millions?
I dont see the administration of these schools taking pay cuts for the good of amateurism?
By Ken Stallings
May 16, 2008 3:25 PM | Link to this
I can remember a time — not so long ago — when young men arrived at a college campus, pursued a degree, and played on a sports team as a sideline to enjoy the campus experience.
Today, the chase for money has ushered in a greed so profound that today it is often thought that the fools are those who refuse to place money as the top quest in their lives.
This greed has already destroyed many once cherished activities. Today, it has destroyed the public concept of the student-athlete in the major sports.
I want the NCAA to refocus on restoring that cherished concept. I want the TV contracts out of the industry as the driving force, back to just being the rights to air a game and nothing else. I want not a one-year requirement but a degree requirement.
I want the professionals using the colleges as minor leagues to go elsewhere and let people wanting a degree first to be the ones provided scholarships to play sports in colleges.
You see, sometimes the truth is in the literal. It is called a scholarship, not an athleteship! I believe this is more than a name, but a concept.
You still have a few highly talented major-sport athletes who understand the awesome environment of a college campus and how great it is to experience it to graduation. Tyler Hansbrough is the latest to eschew the payday to earn his degree and bless him for his wisdom.
Life isn’t about money. It’s about life!
If all one cares about is money, then go your European League path or whatever other path you choose. If you care about an education to make yourself a better human being, then there are few places better than college and the four years to earn the degree.
Most players in Div-1A, and nearly all in the other lower divisions, are students first on a path to a degree and also play sports. They deserve better than to be associated with the few hundred who abuse the system as a stepping stone to an early pro career. And the NCAA should redouble its efforts to help remove this unfortunate tarnish.
The true student-athletes also deserve better than this greed-obsessed culture it seems so many today suffer from.
By beg to differ
May 18, 2008 8:06 AM | Link to this
tyger,
this is such an elitist point of view. Spend some time in a housing project and understand the desire for a better life it breeds. I agree with you, it shouldn’t be about the money, but its easier to tell that to a kid coming from at least a working class family, than a kid coming from poverty. No excuses, rules are broken and they may have to pay but ultimately the system is unfair, but thats because America’s socio-economical system was screwed from the start.
By beg to differ
May 18, 2008 8:07 AM | Link to this
tyger,
this is such an elitist point of view. Spend some time in a housing project and understand the desire for a better life it breeds. I agree with you, it shouldn’t be about the money, but its easier to tell that to a kid coming from at least a working class family, than a kid coming from poverty. No excuses, rules are broken and they may have to pay but ultimately the system is unfair, but thats because America’s socio-economical system was screwed from the start.
By beg to differ
May 18, 2008 8:07 AM | Link to this
tyger,
this is such an elitist point of view. Spend some time in a housing project and understand the desire for a better life it breeds. I agree with you, it shouldn’t be about the money, but its easier to tell that to a kid coming from at least a working class family, than a kid coming from poverty. No excuses, rules are broken and they may have to pay but ultimately the system is unfair, but thats because America’s socio-economical system was screwed from the start.