photo from College Football Pundit.
In the words of the wise rapper, Notorious B.I.G., “Mo’ money, mo’ problems.” The NCAA has a huge problem on their hands and on Tuesday, Nevin Shapiro made their headache worse. Shapiro, who is serving a 20-year sentence, has finally ‘come clean’ because the more than 72 players he showered with money and gifts at the University of Miami never came to his aide when he was being sentenced. Shapiro isn't the first of his kind to support schools and players with lavish gifts and isn't the last. The NCAA has been dealing with these types of people and the headache they bring for years and the players (and coaches) listed below have been able to turn a D-1 school and it's sports programs and get off Scott free. Let’s play a word game and we’ll see if I come out the winner. Are you ready to gamble? The following people did and made it out a winner.
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The first word that comes to my mind upon thinking of Terrelle Pryor is lucky. Yes, you read that right and here's why I said it. Long ago, the kid got into trouble for selling jerseys, rings and other memorabilia for tattoos while attending Ohio State. His punishment? He had to pay back the items worth, $2,500 and sit out the first five OSU football games of the 2011 season. He left Ohio State shortly thereafter and has recently entered into the NFL's Supplemental Draft and has been punished to sit out the first 5-weeks with his future NFL team. Lucky. The kid (along with several other former teammates) got Jim Tressel to resign and got the Univ to vacate all their 2010 wins. The University and Tressel faced the NCAA in court last week and now await their fate. Pryor has turned Ohio State's football program upside down and he has made it out Scott free and is going to be able to make millions in the NFL and on endorsement deals. Again, lucky. It's sad to see him and four other selfish people ruin a wonderful coaching career and season for a lot of players, all for money and tattoos. Mark my words, by this time next week, Pryor will have signed a 3-year, $300,000 endorsement deal with Ink Fixx because everyone knows tattoos itch and the kid has a lot of them (you can see his sleeve here).
When I think of the name OJ Mayo the word that pops up into my head is smart. His game plan was simple: rack up a closet full of thousands of dollars’ worth of clothes, provided to him by Rodney Guillory, an event promoter in LA, bounce out after a year of playing ball for the Trojans, get signed with the Memphis Grizzlies and make $5.6 million for the 2011-2012 season without ever seeing the inside of NCAA President Mark Emmert’s office. He is a smart man indeed. Mayo is a former USC basketball player that received money and gifts from Rodney Guillory back in his playing days in 2007. Shortly after his first and only season at USC ended, Mayo jumped to the NBA in the spring of 2008 signed with the Memphis Grizzlies, while his coach Tim Floyd, the USC basketball coach at the time, resigned and the school self-imposed sanctions for the 2010 season. Sounds like a win-win for everyone!
The best word that best describes Pete Carroll is cool. Back when he was coach of the USC Trojans, it was hard not to see comedian Will Ferrell and Snoop Doggy Dogg on the sidelines. A lot of people were envious; I wasn’t envious of him or USC. I have never liked the colors pink and yellow, but that’s a different story. Carroll ran to the Seattle Seahawks in 2010, while USC was punished by vacating all wins from the 2004 and 2005 season, including the National Championship title from 2005 and be stripped of postseason play for the next two years and the loss of 30 scholarships all because he allowed his star RB Reggie Bush to play ‘tickle the pickle’ with a would-be agent and hired a former NFL tactician to help with the team’s punting and kicking games. Carroll saw the NCAA pitchforks coming for him, so he did what any great coach would do and jumped ship. Yes, cool is definitely the word to use here. If you don’t think Carroll is cool, just look at this and let me know otherwise.
Hey! Let’s make it a trifecta by using another a former USC player as an example. Just by looking at the picture above you are amazed and in awe of his gifted and raw talent. Bush is also incredibly good looking, but those aren't the words I am going to use. No, I am going to use the word sad. Yes, it is sad to see that all of Bush’s raw and gifted talent, especially all the accolades he won and deserved to win to be taken away from him. Bush’s mother and stepfather were provided a home in San Diego by a would-be agent in exchange for Bush signing with the agent once he left USC. After an NCAA investigation, Bush gave back his Heisman trophy after the ironfist of the NCAA fell on top of USC and him. USC also gave back their copy of the Heisman, too. Bush has been playing with the Saints since 2006 and won Super Bowl XLIII. It is sad to see that Mayo, Bush and Carroll could ruin such a powerhouse as USC, but the lights of Hollywood and Los Angeles have made people do crazy things.
I have never been a fan of Cam Newton, but I will be easy to him, but just this once. The word that best describes Newton is boring. I have never loathe a player as much as I have with him because he is boring to watch. There are two things that make me fall asleep faster than anything else in this world and they are women’s basketball and Cam Newton stepping back into the pocket. Newton was never punished for his father’s actions, but the NCAA hasn’t stopped digging. If I found out that my father was shopping me around for $100-$180 thousand dollars, I would be flabbergasted that is all he thought I was worth. But, when your church needs renovations, I guess any excuse will work, right? Newton is currently playing football with the Carolina Panthers and Cecil no longer has to worry about what choir robes he’ll choir will be wearing next Sunday, since it looks like his son is making more than $180,000.
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In order for the NCAA to get their ‘balls’ back, they should make an example of Miami. You will definitely wake everyone up and everyone would definitely think twice before accepting that car and cold, hard cash. But, I’m a girl and I don’t know what I am talking about. If the NCAA continues having this headache I hear Aleve works really well.
A lot of ideas have been thrown around, but you can talk, and talk, and talk ‘til the cows come home, but no one is PHYSICALLY doing anything to fix this. My dad always told me, “that no one wants to hear what you are going to do. If you are going to do something, just do it.” If the NCAA is serious about taking control of this situation, they need to take the reins, get off their couches and take demand of this rampant problem. If they haven’t heard enough solutions, I have posted a few of my own below.
Cease and Desist Solutions
1) Scare the bejesus out of everyone - NCAA President, Mark Emmert, recently used the word ‘Death Penalty’ and that word should scare “The U”, but Emmert and Co., really haven’t proven that they mean business. They slap schools with sanctions, but nothing is worse than being hit with the ‘Death Penalty’ (ask Southern Methodist University how that tasted. They still have a bitter taste in their mouths. (SMU was hit with the ‘Death Penalty’ back in 1987 and they are the last football program to be hit with this penalty).
2) Set-up a scholoarship for underprivileged athletes - Currently, there is no Financial Aid available to athletes or students to use as spending cash. There should be a way for students/athletes to apply for Financial Aid to use as spending money, but they have to demonstrate the financial need. They would receive up to $300/month to help out with whatever the school wouldn’t be able to provide.
3) Pay athletes from ticket sales - Another idea is for athletes to take 1% of ticket sales for each game home with them. The school gets money from ticket sales and TV deals, why not pay all athletes who ‘work’ for the school, by entertaining the masses. You don’t want kids making NFL money, but you want them to be able to reap the reward, too.
4) Coaches fork it over - Steve Spurrier, Head coach of S. Carolina would like to pay players $300/game out of his own paycheck (not bad for a guy who made $2 million in 2010).
wow!!! great entry!!!!! :D
ReplyDeletethank you!
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