Over the course of the last two days two stories have appeared regarding college football players cuttin' and runnin' early.
The first was Alabama's Andre Smith, and even if you believe that he was just stickin' his toe in the water to see if he'd get a good nibble, what he got instead was (rightfully) a bite in the nether regions from Coach Saban who wasted no time in exerting his determination to keep the program clean by yanking Smith out of the bowl game this weekend. This is a good thing. Smith is gone, for all intents and purposes.
And now I read where Auburn's Sen’Derrick Marks has announced his intention to enter the NFL draft a year shy of his own senior year. Hey, at least he gets props for doing that before calling an agent, or accepting a call from one.
Don't get me wrong -- in theory, I have no problem with an athlete weighing his options and (bring out the mini-violins) opting to go for the legit bucks while he's hot -- what I do have a big problem with is the fact that universities have invested bucks in these guys -- they've gotten a free ride to educational opportunities based on their talent.
If a player gets through his eligibility -- with or without a degree -- and has contributed to the program, all's even.
But when a player cuts out after a three year (or so) all-expenses paid (pretty much) training camp, doesn't he owe something back to the university?
I sure think so, and I think they ought to repay every dime the University "spent" on their tuition and whatever else they are legally able to do -- and that that money should go into the general scholarship fund to provide access to higher education for those who want desperately to attend college.
Otherwise, it's money down the toilet.
3 comments:
i see the argument, but it leads down a dangerous road.
dude is a computer sciences major, is on scholarship, develops killer app, and leaves early because there's a market available that he needs to exploit. do you bust him?
or an english major. writes the great American novel and is finished, editing and all, by the time they're a junior. do they repay their scholarships if they decide to leave early?
schools wouldn't be able to tag just one subset of college students on scholarships without widening the scope. if you start penalizing folks for leaving college early, you potentially limit potential for kids in college to think freely and attempt to strike out on their own.
instead, they'll be afraid to make their mark and strike while the iron is hot, and, well... that's just a bad idea.
Here's the difference as I see it.
While both those scenarios have happened, the university has typically not done anything specially for them that it doesn't do for every other student studying for those degrees.
Student-athletes, however, don't "major" in football (or basketball), so the investment the university is making in them goes well above and beyond providing them a place to sit in a classroom.
Generally speaking, comp sci folks and English majors don't have trainers, physical therapists, nutritionists, or any other number of special services made available to them free of charge in addition to that desk in the classroom.
And yes, the universities get something ($$) from getting the best athletes assembled on a field -- so don't think I'm forgetting that.
You know how much I love college football -- ALL of it -- but these stories (and we get them all the time, from everywhere) are making me increasingly aware that for so many of these guys, they get a free buffer time to bulk up, train up, and garner exposure to the media to help them make their case.
Of course I'm not stupid enough not to realize that the Universities probably don't care a whit about the money, since in some sense they did get a return on their investment -- it's just one of those "sticks in my craw" things. I'm allowed to have those, right?
absolutely allowed. Another view is that some of these players come from very very limited financial means and are relly ready to make significant $$. They certainly can wait bit what if they have a career ending injury in their senoir year and can never play pro ball (like Tyronne Prothrow). i think they see staying as having a potentially HUGE opportunity cost, and I do agree with them. Often these young men become a huge financial support to their families and they realize this. I would love to see Andre another year but I do not begrudge him his opportunity at all.
Anne
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