UPDATED: The NCAA and NFL look into the agent issue...
by Paragon SC on Oct 27, 2010 5:13 PM PDT
in General NCAA
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PrintInteresting Update below...P
The intriguing rumor out of all of this is that the involved parties are looking in levying fines and suspensions once a player gets into the the NFL if he was found to have broken the rules in college.
Players who lose their college eligibility for receiving improper benefits from agents could face financial penalties upon entering the NFL draft under a proposal being considered by a panel of college and pro football officials seeking solutions to the problem.
The NCAA noted the possibility of "potential post-NCAA financial penalties" in a news release Monday announcing the collaborative discussions between professional and college football leaders, player agents, state law enforcement officials and NCAA executives.
The possibility of suspensions during a player's NFL rookie year -- as long as six to eight games -- is also being discussed, according to two sources involved in the collaborative discussions including representatives of the NFL, the NFLPA, the NCAA and the American Football Coaches Association.
Couple of things here...
I like the forward thinking. The possibility of punishing a player for breaking the rules is intriguing but I don't see it happening let alone realistic.
I want to know EXACTLY what the NFLPA thinks about this. This goes against protecting their members, why would they care if a player took money in college? They can't even represent these kids so why would they want them punished before they ever take a snap.
I have a hard time seeing the NFL legislating penalties to players whose infractions happened before they were members of NFL. I am not even sure if it is legal for them to try.
Even though it is against the rules there are many who will be uncomfortable with this...the NCAA makes millions off these kids and yet the kids barely get a decent stipend...and I don't want to hear about the free education, most of these kids could care less about it, most are too immature understand the value of the education in the first place.
Pete Carroll screamed at the top of his lungs to the NFL about this issue and no one listened. It wasn't until other schools started to get ensnared in other allegations...be it Austin at UNC, Darius at 'Bama, Green at UGA or Pouncey at UF. The NCAA didn't care when it was just 'SC in the cross hairs now with a number of schools having this problem its a national conspiracy that has caused a sense of urgency that now must be addressed.
More intriguing, there is still no mention of giving the school any relief if they didn't know what was going on like in the Bush mess.
Don't get me wrong, its about damn time that the NCAA, NFL and NFLPA finally see this as a legitimate issue but it has been brought up before...this is nothing new.
When it comes to the NCAA, NFL and NFLPA actually setting any rules in place I will remain skeptical...right now its just lip service.
UPDATE:
Just like I thought the NFLPA won't punish their new members...
"The NFLPA is opposed to any penalty being imposed upon a player in the NFL for conduct relating to the receipt of benefits in violation of NCAA rules while the player was in college," the NFLPA said in a statement. "However, we will continue to discuss with the NCAA and others issues relating to the conduct of agents certified by the NFLPA as they interact with NCAA players."
I am not surprised one bit...
And it is what I thought would happen.
Then there is a bit of a contradiction in the very next paragraph...
The executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, Grant Teaff, said Wednesday that post-NCAA penalties for college players who receive extra benefits at the end of their college careers is "on the table."
Really....
Not without the NFLPA backing it. On the table? It isn't even in the kitchen. Like I said there is NO WAY they would ever sell their new members...who pay a lot of dues, down the river. If the NFLPA wants to punish the agents involved that is their call but they won't hammer their members.
The AFCA has ZERO credibility here, but that is a whole other story. They won't punish their members who over sign players and then discard the ones they don't want.
Like I said, lip service...
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This solution has no hope of solving the problem
most of the players who take cash don’t even play in the NFL. In addition you’d have the odd juxtaposition of fining a guy for dealing with the guy who is now the players agent. The NCAA basically has two choices if it really wants to deal with the issue. It can revamp the concept of amateurism, and include athletes in some sort of revenue scheme, or it can just choose to ignore agent – player issues, and focus its attention on something else (booster – player transactions). I think the latter is the better choice, I don’t think the NCAA is able to really confront things in a systemic and rational fashion. What is unacceptable is the current regimes random hammer of fate approach which focuses mainly on media pressure and interscholastic dislike.
It's not a "random" approach
Media pressure and interscholastic dislike were very important factors. Plus…the COI was loaded with people with people who either:
1. Hated USC
2. Disliked USC
3. Competed against USC, on the field and/or for legacy
4. Were bitter about getting their own programs hammered for blatant cheating
5. All of the above
Don’t get me wrong, USC did deserve to be penalized for Bush’s and Mayo’s trangressions and some lax oversight. But the penalties should fit the crime.
The NFLPA responded to this proposal
You can't put sanctions on the fkn endzone! Bowls are for salad!
There was a time when tradeworker unions actually meant something
That’s not to say that unions don’t have a place in the workforce- far from it. But, as with every large bureaucratic organization that has outgrown it’s charter- the National Football League Players Association has once again shown that it cares little about anything else, other than membership dues and sitting on it’s ass.
In it’s short, yet volatile existence- the NFLPA tried to initially block the merger of the old NFL & AFL leagues, tried and lost union affiliation with the AFL-CIO, sought union certification through the National Labor Relations Board, then de-certified itself after being on the losing end of negotiations during the 1987 season labor strike, and in one of it’s more infamous philosophical stances: they even rejected then later relented in helping to set-up a trust fund for former football players who were in dire need of post-career health and medical coverage.
In 2007, the NFL and NFLPA joined forces to create a health and hospice foundation that benefits ex-players who are faced with serious health and medical needs. This assistance fund was overdue in the making.
The NFLPA is in a great position to do something right (from the outset), for a change. And. . . .they’ve totally “fumbled” this opportunity. By not allowing for penalties to be levied upon ex-college/potential rookie pro players who put their teams, ex-college teammates, and universities at considerable risk (academically AND economically) is a shame not just on the sport of football, but on society- as a whole. It’s a selfish and obtuse position that they have taken, and I hope we see a public backlash against the NFLPA because of it.
Truth be told, in order to help reform the NCAA as we know it, rules on amateurism and eligibility must be systemically overhauled. This will be quite a difficult endeavor to achieve without the help and sensitivity from all the major professional leagues and player’s unions. Why, of all times, must the NFLPA elect to NOT BE a team-player in any of this?
I’m a believer in the benefits of a union. I’ve lost this ideal, when it comes to the NFL Players Union.
JUST BEAT THOSE FUCKING QUACKED-OUT DUCKS, AIGHT?
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