 |
| Don't you dare sit out for 5 games in 2011 son! |
Pryor must repay $2,500 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring, a 2009 Fiesta Bowl sportsmanship award and his 2008 Gold Pants, a gift from the university for players on a team that beats arch-rival Michigan. Herron must repay $1,150 for selling his football jersey, pants and shoes for $1,000 and receiving discounted services worth $150. Posey must repay $1,250 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring for $1,200 and receiving discounted services worth $50.Adams must repay $1,000 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring. Thomas must repay $1,505 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring for $1,000, his 2008 Gold Pants for $350 and receiving discounted services worth $155.
Now sounds to me like these kids needed extra money. They weren’t trying to do anything but take care of themselves. Why else would a kid sell his awards that he’s worked so hard to get. These guys were selling things that should mean a great deal to them. That’s not what a person would do under normal circumstances. That’s what a crack head would do or someone that’s extremely desperate for money would do. Not a famous student-athlete.
So what does this tell us? It tells me that the system is jacked up and the kids are always going to be caught in the middle. I’m appalled that a kid that is making a university hundreds of millions of dollars would have to sell his championship rings and awards to put money into his pockets and no one else see’s that’s a problem.
The media is blasting these kids and not the system. I wrote an article last year entitled College Athletes Should Get Paid that addressed this very issue. It’s a shame that kids continue to be taken advantage of in the world of college athletics. If Pryor were my son I’d encourage him to turn pro after the Sugar Bowl. If he stays in school he’s got sit out half the season and go to class. He may as well go to the league and get paid if he’s going to sit. The only issue is whether there will be an NFL draft in April because of the issues surrounding the Collective Bargaining Agreement. If that gets settled in time I’d tell him to get paid! What’s your opinion?
Jay Graves
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.
Being a product of the NCAA system, I know all too well the challenges of being a student athlete. It is hypocritical how players are paraded all across this country making billions of dollars for the NCAA and her member institutions, while the players get nothing but a diploma, if they even graduate. Not to discount the value of a college degree but I am sure any player would trade a degree for millions of dollars if given a chance.
ReplyDeleteAlso, when you look at the players that make up many of these top teams, they are often urban and poor kids. I am not making this a racial issue but a class issue. The players who dont have money are most likely to get caught up in scandlas like the Ohio State Univ players and like many others that have been caught before them.
This nation needs to wake up and figure out a way to get a stipend to these players so they dont feel the need to sell what should be keep sake. Just my two cents.
Wayne Messam