Bush's benefits
Reggie Bush wasn't representing the "619" very well when he allegedly received more than $100,000 in financial benefits from a marketing group while still playing at USC, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports.
Can everyone join me in a collective, "Tsk, tsk."
The repercussions for taking the money could be steep - Bush could be stripped of his Heisman trophy and the NCAA could retroactively declare him ineligible.
I'm sorry, but how dumb (and/or greedy) could Reggie Bush have been that he couldn't wait one year before the real cash started to flow in from endorsement deals and a big NFL contract. Perhaps I should recant my earlier, "Tsk, tsk," and just say, "What a moron."
For the full story, check out http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/
news;_ylt=AjG8tKK3iys9Y6zS2r_cJXk5nYcB?slug=ys-bushprobe&prov=yhoo&type=lgns.
posted by LynnieO at 8:45 AM
3 Comments:
Photo CTSY: AP
Big embarrassment for USC, but how big of a deal is this really to Reggie Bush? It won't affect his NFL contract, I assume... Do you think it will kill his contract with Adidas? I don't, but I could be wrong...
Reggie Bush deserves a 'tsk tsk' AND a 'what a moron' for taking illegal money in college. But under the table deals like that are just shady business as usual in college football. It's everywhere, and it is the NCAA's fault that the problem has not been solved.
College sports is a business worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The athletes understand perfectly well that they are their universities' best fundraisers--and yet they're not allowed to see a dime. They are promised NFL money if they stay healthy and if they get drafted, but those things are never assured. So some take illegal money--not excusable, but also not a mystery.
Within certain limits, I think the solution is to have colleges pay their athletes for their labor. Bring it out into the open. This would reduce the demand for the shady under-the-table deals, and it might make them easier to catch when they occur...
Rob,
Thanks for opening this up to debate!
Big time college sports no doubt has a lot of shady business.
While I agree that universities bilk athletes (mostly from the big time football and basketball programs), I have a hard time with the idea that they should get paid.
There's something still pure about college sports that makes them so darn fun to watch, and I think paychecks would hurt the integrity of college sports.
And I think these athletes have a pretty good deal. Free education. State-of-the-art training facilities. Good eats. (I think I just heard Reggie Bush laughing from New Orleans...)
I do think the NCAA has erred in the recet past by being too stringent about players taking outside opportunities to make a few bucks. Take Jeremy Bloom as an example. The NCAA stripped him of his eligibility to play football at Colorado because he was taking endorsement money to pursue aerial skiing in the Olympics. How messed up is that?!
And they have crazy rules where a coach can't even buy a player dinner. So those rules almost become laughable when you hear athletes taking thousands of dollars...why wouldn't they, right?
There is no way around the fact that for every Jeremy Bloom there are dozens "morons" (in my own words) who take the wad of cash from a booster or "friend of the program." The lure of a new car or a free apartment (or house in Reggie's case) are just too tempting. I don't know how that will ever stop, unless those morons suddenly get a dose of morals.
And what will happen to Reggie Bush? Probably nothing at all. His endorsers have too much money invested in him, and will get some slick lawyers who won't let the NCAA impose a single sanction.
Chris Webber took money while he played hoops at Michigan, and he plea bargained his way to barely a slap on the wrist.
Alas, college sports is a business and isn't immune to corruption.
I guess that's why I always like to hear about the 3rd string walk-on quarterback who works his way up to a scholarship. Now that's taking advantage of the system.
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