O.J. Mayo took money from an agent before college? Shocked, I tell you.

Seriously though, if this is true USC deserves major penalties. First Reggie Bush and now Mayo -- talk about a lack of institutional control. A mercenary like Mayo says he's coming to your school for a year because it's in a top media market, and you don't watch him like a hawk? You don't wonder how the guy manages to get flat screen TV for his dorm room, for god's sake? The Trojans either knew what was going on, or they made it a point not to know. Either way, they should get hammered.

 

This is why I think the whole amateurism thing in big-time NCAA sports is crap. If the schools don't want to pay the players, then let the players earn whatever they can from whoever they want to. If that means members of the rugby team getting free beers on the house after their match, then so be it.

 

The other thing is, with these players who know they're going to be one-and-done, what incentive is there for them to follow NCAA rules? Mayo could take whatever he wanted from agents, knowing that by the time he got caught his USC career would be over, anyway.

Meanwhile, USC gets a first-round loss in the tournament and now possibly probation to show for Mayo's time as a Trojan.

 

I have never and will never understand why it's O.K. for the people who work on programming boards, yearbooks, school newspapers, e.t.c. can get stipends and get paid but athletes that even accept a pair of free shoes lose their eligibility and are broadcast to the nation as bad people.

In high school, I could see the incentive for wanting to shield a person from this type of bribe mentality, but in college, when a lot of these kids have already reached 18, they should be allowed to profit from their abilities.

Of course, what does my opinion matter? Those goddamn Nazi's in the NCAA don't give a crap about anything but their profit margin (See the ever-expanding BCS for example).

I say fuck the NCAA. If you're talented, collect whatever you want. You're only one injury away from watching your life get ruined, make the most out of it while you can.

 

People who work on programming boards, yearbooks, school newspapers, etc. generally don't have full-ride scholarships, complete with academic tutors and free housing, either. : : : :

 

Solid point, but they're still getting paid for participating in an extracurricular activity provided by their campus.

Athletes don't get paid for their abilities at the college level and if they receive money, their team is reprimanded. Could you imagine the same happening to some kid at his local campus rag?

If John Q. Smith used what he learned at the Daily Collegian and got paid to freelance for his local daily paper would it then be acceptable for some bullshit governing body to say "Oh, sorry, Daily Collegian, you're going to lose funding now because you have a writer who is not an amateur?"

I'm sorry, but the NCAA can lick my balls. That organization is only out for itself and the athletes who have to suffer through it are being done a great disservice because of it.

 

Every time a college athlete gets caught cheating someone points out how unfair the system is, and there's some truth to that. But the athletes are getting something of monetary value -- scholarship, room and board, books, etc. -- in return for playing sports. It's not like they're indentured servants. Also, the rules are the rules. Mayo knew what the deal was, and he still apparently chose to cheat, knowing that if he got caught, the people he left behind at USC were going to be the ones to pay the penalty. The system might not be perfect, but that doesn't excuse athletes who cheat their asses off.

 

In a perfect world, as far as I am concerned, they would stay in school for four years, get a degree and then move on to the NBA. This obviously is not a perfect world.

I hate the idea of high school kids going straight to the NBA. Their games are not ready, and we get the wretchedness of the Celtics and the Cavs in the conference semifinals in return.

One year in college is a joke. I would love to see some of these kids' transcripts from their first semester, and only full semester, of college. This obviously is not the answer.

Does the NBA create a developmental league and force rookies to spend two years there? Maybe. I think limiting their salaries for those seasons would be a good idea as well.

Right now the system sucks, and basketball at every level is suffering.

 

This again? Seriously?

 

He's like Stan with a catnip mouse. He can't help himself.

 

I'm pretty sure that's actually an insult to Stan.

 

Most athletes are getting stipends, per diems, etc.
And I'm guessing it's more than the $10 an article I got working for the Maneater.

That doesn't mean your point isn't spot on. The NCAA is so full of its own shit it can't see how contradictory it really is.