Rotten Apples

When it comes to controlling highly recruited, high-profile athletes the NCAA is a joke. Those who choose to abuse the system do so without regard to future punishment because there won't be any. The NCAA has no power to punish people who are no longer a part of their system. In fact, going pro basically forces you out of their jurisdiction. As long as players are somewhat smart about it and don't attend penthouse parties in Miami hosted by sleazy sports agents, they can take all the money they want and get all the privilege they want without fear of retribution.

If a player does get caught taking money or committing some other infraction, so what? If they're good enough it won't matter. If they aren't good enough it didn't matter to begin with. Players who take money don't care about college, they care about getting paid.

I don't want to hear about agents who try to make it sound like they're just helping out a poor kid. If they cared about the kids they'd give a little spending money to the guy who barely got a scholarship and is there to actually get an education. I'm sure there are a couple players out there who come from tough backgrounds and have very little money, but just aren't good enough for the agents to care. Can you run a 4.2 forty? Here's a couple bucks. You're a third-stringer with 3.7 GPA? Go away.

The NFL doesn't care either. A player may move down a couple spots in the draft, but players like Dez Bryant will soon change that. He didn't take money, but he did get caught and punished for another infraction and teams that passed on him because of it won't do it the next time.

For what it's worth, the NCAA does all they can to prevent abuse of their system. The problem is that they're slow and by the time they can prove someone guilty, that player is already holding up a Super Bowl trophy and dating a reality star.

Players like Reggie Bush look at college like an obstacle to making millions. Sure, it's fun and they get all the perks, but they'd probably rather not be there and if you're stuck there, why not make the best of the situation?

The problem with the NCAA is not the NCAA. It's the players who choose to take the money and the slimy agents who offer it. We act like it's a widespread problem, but only a tiny percentage of players are given the chance to take money from agents and only a small percentage of agents even offer it.

The argument that players should be paid because of how much they make for the schools is also a joke. First of all, they already get paid. Ask anyone who has ever paid for college if playing a sport and making the school a millions dollars in exchange for a free education is worth it. Most would jump at the opportunity.

Also, for the ones who make the most money for the school the exposure of a national stage playing against the top talent in the country is worth more than any education. Even more, there are people in the business world everyday who make much more money for the company they work for than what they get paid. It's a fact of life.

Perhaps there could be a hardship stipend for those who need it, but that won't solve any problems. It'll be great for the honest players, but players who choose to abuse the system will do so anyway. Being able to see a movie on the weekend won't be enough motivation to turn down the advances of a corrupt agent.

The agents are, in fact, the root of the problem. But, they're almost like a drug. They're out there lurking in the shadows and everyone knows it. They can make you feel good, but nobody blames the drug when someone starts using it.

Even if you get rid of one, another will take its place. The supply will always be there. All we can hope is that the demand is not.

The only solution seems to be putting some sort of contractual agreement into the letters of commitment that would hold a player responsible even after he leaves college. Of course, there could be a ton of legal issues that I have no idea about, but it seems like the only solution. Until then, we'll just have to accept that a small fraction of players will make bad decisions and that the NCAA is inept when trying to stop them.

Creating a professional minor league system for players with no interest in college wouldn't work either. For one, the NFL would have no interest in creating it because they don't want to spend millions of dollars when they already have a free minor league system. And if the NFL didn't run and control the league it would soon be overrun by the same dishonest agents that mar college football because the players would not be held accountable by the organization they're trying to join.

If the players, who would all be kids just out of high school, were free to profit as they choose more talent would be squandered by excess and outright bribery than would be fostered. Plus, the agents would then infiltrate high school football. Wherever the last amateur step before going pro, the agents will be.

The problem of players taking money from dishonest agents and the NCAA's inability to control it stains what is an overall great system. For the vast majority of players the chance of going pro is almost none. They never even see an agent. For them, the payment is representing their school by playing the game they love and getting a free education in the process.

For every player that takes money and treats college like just another privilege there are a thousand who give it their all on the field, give it their all in the classroom and should make us all proud to be fans. Don't change the entire system because a few choose to abuse it. Let's, for once, not let the very few ruin it for everyone.