Why I can’t be mad at A.J. Green
I’ll be honest. My first reaction when I heard of A.J. Green’s four-game suspension was one of anger.
And it wasn’t because Green owes any of us anything. I want to see the guy play because he’s a great player. And when there is a big game like Saturday’s between Georgia and South Carolina I want both teams to have all of their weapons. I love college football and I want to see great players play. And we’ve got too many guys who are not playing right now because of NCAA rules violations.
No, I was angry at A.J. because it seems so unnecessary. Early next year A.J. Green is going to be a very wealthy man because he is going to turn pro. So the money was coming. A.J. is a smart kid and he knew that there is no level where selling his jersey for a lousy $1,000 bucks was not a rules violation. The risk/reward/punishment equation for doing this just didn’t add up.
If this NCAA ruling stands (three more games on suspension), and it shouldn’t because it’s excessive, what should be an unforgettable junior season for Green will be forever tainted with “Yeah, he was good but he missed four games.” That made me sad and, at first, angry.
But I learned a long time ago that it’s easy for us adults to wag our fingers and say “Hey, those are the rules. You gotta follow them.” We’re not in the kid’s shoes. We don’t have to watch while the schools fill the stadiums, accept millions from television and make more millions from selling his jersey (with his name on it) while the system pats us on the head and assures us that our day is coming if we’ll only be patient. We really only learn that kind of patience as an adult. Youth, by its very defintion, is not patient.
Understand that the NCAA makes these rules not to regulate what actually happens, like one kid selling a jersey for $1,000. The rules are in place to control what COULD happen–like a kid selling 500 jerseys (provided to him by an agent) for $1,000 each. The NCAA punishes the nickle and dime stuff in hopes of preventing something really big and bad from happening.
When Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant lied to investigators about his relationship with Deion Sanders, the NCAA banned him for the rest of his junior season. Bryant was not truthful but was his lie REALLY that bad? Well, no but the move sent a chilling message to other athletes: Lie to NCAA investigators and you’re done. That message was received and understood. Now before every interview with the NCAA the kid has the fear of God put in him. That was by design.
Yes, the financial end of college athletics is certainly to the benefit of the schools. It’s all one big double standard, we know that. But certain things are just a blatant slap in the face to these guys. The fact that A.J. Green may lose a third of his junior season for selling a jersey while the University Bookstore sells a bunch of them is a double slap. It’s the establishment telling these kids: We can make money off your talent and fame in every damn way we please. If you try it, though, we’ll use the rules to take you out and to keep you in line.
The NCAA enforcement people have been working overtime this summer trying to keep a lid on a bunch of these issues from Agent Gate to Hotel Gate. At the core of all of them is a system where the athletes realize on a daily basis that they are getting a raw deal. They get to the point where they don’t care any more. It’s “hey, if they catch me they catch me but I’m not taking this any more.”
We as fans wonder where the loyalty is to the institution. But through the eyes of a young kid from modest or poor circumstances, that loyalty street seems to only run one way.
I don’t have a lot of answers for you this morning but I would suggest this: A school like Georgia should be able to sell all of the No. 8 jerseys it wants. The jersey and the number belong to the school.
But when some schools–and I am told that Georgia is not one of them–start putting name on the back on the jersey then you have crossed an ethical line. What the kid did on the field made that jersey more valuable than a generic one. He created that extra value and cannot share in it. So the school shouldn’t share in it either.
So let’s just end that practice. Is it a little thing in the grand scheme of things? Absolutely. But it would be one less slap in the face to a group of people who are getting tired of being pushed around.
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847 comments Add your comment
404
September 9th, 2010
10:40 am
Palladin:
You will get your wish.
A NFL lock-out/Player Strike is 100% GUARANTEED for next year.
Chris
September 9th, 2010
10:41 am
You really were given a gift for writing Tony, very concise and balanced/accurate. Yes, he made a mistake but that archaic institution is so like the IRS or the Gestapo. No system of checks or balances. Four games??? Are you kidding me? And Marcel Dareus gets two days for a free flight and hotel stay in Miami?
You’re right, it’s a small thing to stop the sale of Green’s jersey at the UGA bookstore but most change starts small. All these people crying here about AJ being a bad guy and letting his team down are poorly informed. From stories I’ve heard, he’s as sincere and genuine a kid you could want on your team, superstar or not. Yes, the value of an education is worth a lot of money but most of these kids can’t even take a girl out for a pizza.
College ball is the equivalent of the minor leagues for baseball. Something has to be done. A stipend won’t work; that option is rife for finding loopholes to cheat. But something has to change and it won’t in my lifetime as long as that antiquated organization of buffoons is in charge.
BAMA Dude
September 9th, 2010
10:43 am
Chris, all indications are that Marcel made a plea bargain of sorts.
Christian Dior Dogg
September 9th, 2010
10:43 am
Tony, what color was the jersey? Was it one of those fabulous little black jerseys that our genius Coach Richt designed before the Big Game?
BTW, nobody pays a thousand bucks for a jersey. The jersey was to disguise a gift of cash. In that light, four game suspension is appropriate.
Tony you are full of it
September 9th, 2010
10:44 am
Of course you were angry.. you are a Georgia grad and a Dawg fan…
AJ Green knew the rules when he decided to sign a LOI to play at Georgia. He could have chosen not to do so. He broke the rules. PERIOD. What is so confusing about that ? You are full of it Tony
south tifton
September 9th, 2010
10:45 am
suwaneedawg
your program is a corrupt laughing stock.
every day just adds more and more and more proof.
help, I live in Ga
September 9th, 2010
10:45 am
Ok
1. It wasn’t about the jersey–He took money from an agent.
2. How in the world did this guy get caught? That’s stupid.
3. My nephew plays for an SEC team and when I poke fun at the stupidity of some of these rules breakers he takes offense. First for attacking the team, and second he explains to me that some of these guys have never seen hundred dollar bills and some of them came from homes with no heating and cooling. They are given per diems and put up at nice hotels even for home games where they get a taste of what it’s like to have money. Then they are approached buy slimey agents waiving cash in their face and telling them they deserve their piece of the pie now.
4. knowing all of this–if I was a coach, I would be counceling my potential agent-targets on a weekly basis. And checking up on them.
5. how in the world did AJ get caught. Repetitive, I know, but he must have bragged about it. If you get caught doing something this stupid, you’ ve probably been taking wads of cash for a while now and you just got careless.
Possible Solutions:
Make it like a semi-pro team and pay them a little more. Or any team has the right to recruit/draft maybe 5 players a year who can recieve hardship salary. Or, like a previous poster suggested–put them on a work study program. They work really hard and long hours at football to produce a product for the University to sell. Pay them minumum wage for their time. It would ad up fast.
AJ broke the same rule that Reggie Bush broke. Seriously Tony, do you really think he should get off with an easier sentence?
Tony Barnhart
September 9th, 2010
10:47 am
Spoke to Howard Taylor of the University of Georgia bookstore. They are not allowed to put any names on the backs of the jerseys. I’ve made that correction.
But the principle is still the same. It’s tough for kids to watch schools sell what they believe is their jerseyes.
BuckhedBill
September 9th, 2010
10:47 am
Who is this “Ritch” person that has control?
catlady
September 9th, 2010
10:49 am
Dear Larrydawg,
My PhD is from UGa. Good for me. However, that does not negate the fact that playing ball for UGa is no more worthy of $100,000 of support than the graduate fellowship I had. UNIVERSITIES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT EDUCATION. Sports is an add-on–great to have, but not necessary for the school’s primary mission.
I am doubtful that you will produce anything that will win your school any patents. I know I did not–just published in several peer-reviewed journals and presentations at many national conferences, which garnered me and the university some recognition in those who know about the subject.
I just don’t think athletes should be treated inequitably, as they are at 1A schools. Many other students “produce” for their colleges, yet they are not offered 1/10 of what the average 1A major sports athlete is given. Seems a shame to me to ignore the primary mission of the school, which is education, not your 100 yard dash time.
db
September 9th, 2010
10:52 am
I am getting sick and tired of bad behavior being excused, or even more so, rewarded. He knew the rules, he broke the rules, he has to pay the punishment. After all, he does get an education out of this for free and has the opportunity to showcase his talent to eventually make millions of $’s.
Tony – you should be ashamed of yourself as well as AJ.
Lane Kiffin
September 9th, 2010
10:52 am
WOW!!!!!! It just keeps gettin’ better and better and better with TB now. Tony you have gone SOOOO far overboard now that the respect many of us used to have for your opinion and insight is just totally gone now! Green sold a jersey for 1,000 dollars to an agent. How much more blatantly foul does the friggin’ infraction gotta be for you?????? Why is it that THuga’s players are all ABOVE the rule and law but most every other program and their players have ZERO trouble following them???
How to put an end to this
September 9th, 2010
10:53 am
As a kid, I wanted to play pro baseball, way back in the late 60s. Guess what? It did not work out, so i went to Plan B ………..UGA, graduated twice and became a business man and that turned out fairly well. UGA did pay off for me in life preparation, not for the American or National BB Leagues.
NCAA and all big boy schools can end this NCAA scrutiny crap immediately. The NFL needs to create a minor league for kids that do finish HS ………….. feed them well, nuture them with on staff counselors about life, pay them about $100,000 per year initially and groom them and when the particular NFL teams deems them worthy of playing, let em play pro ball. If they do not pan out, the particular NFL team will have to release them and find another one just like the last one……….. not the colleges. See??
This would remove all of the same stuff that Colleges have to do now with these kids. They grow up in crack houses and they see violence every day in their communities and they are desperately poor as a result. Then, when they get to football u, the animals and the “pimps” are hanging around them.
Yes, there likely would be legal challenges ……..colleges do not owe a kid anything but a shot. Their shot would simply be placed where it is now in minor league PRO ball. Now, with the kind of kids out there it has become like a baby sitting gig for all the schools. Just put that odd burdne on the pros and let them invest in these punks ………..not a college. H-ll no.
Take the so called NFL bound kids and the “I think I am NFL bound” kids away to a NFL paid for camp on cotnract for three or four or five years. This way the SAT/ACT dumb asses can ALSO get a shot at pro sports. How many of them do we all know that never got admiited to any college??
This way, we can get a higher quality kid in the school and avoid about 80% of this crap. We in the 1960s had the best way …………I can prove it with examples like we read about now, everyday.
I rest my case.
Go Dogs.
76-DAWG
September 9th, 2010
10:54 am
The reason you will never see high school football players be allowed to go straight to the pro’s is because they need that extra few years to develop because football is so much more violent than any other college sport. You let high school kids go straight to the pro’s and you will have some killed. Also the pro team would have to set up a minor league system like they have in baseball. For football players colleges are a substitute for the minor leagues that you have in baseball. The pro football teams found out a long time ago they lose too much money if they have to find their pro prospects themselves with a minor league system.
Dirty Dawg
September 9th, 2010
10:54 am
Assuming that the NCAA will have tried to judge this thing objectively, or at least tried to determine a ‘just’ degree of punishment called for based on the ‘deed’, and assuming that even if precedent doesn’t currently exist then they’ll be, more or less, honest in their deliberations, then so be it (of course I’m often thought of as delusional). He broke the rule and he has to pay the price. Thank goodness this isn’t 1983 when Herschel had to give up his final year – and probably another Heisman, and maybe another National Championship for Georgia, and the all-time, all-time, NCAA rushing record – just because one Jack Manton saw himself as a ‘pimp-style’ sports agent (complete with the full-length fur coat) and got Herschel to sit down with Donald Trump. Herschel was offered $10 million to jump to the USFL, he told ‘em that it was tempting but he wanted to think it over…decided not to go through with it…talked to Vince Dooley about it who told him that just the ‘act’ of meeting with the agent and the potential client was enough to lose his eligibility…and he was gone. It hurt but we survived it and we’ll survive this as well.
George
September 9th, 2010
10:54 am
This is not a unspeakable human tragedy.
Joe Sparks
September 9th, 2010
10:55 am
Mr. Barnhart, I usually agreee with what you have to say, but you are off the mark here. It is a bigger issue than just selling the jersey, regardless if it was to an agent or not. These players know the rules the minute they step on campus in regards to selling their equipment that is given to them. It is a blatant disregard of the rules that these players are showing. At what point is Coach Richt held accountable in terms of his discilpine problems? His scholarship is worth well over $115,000+ (4 years of out of state tuition, plus who knows how many meals, clothing, bowl prizes, etc…). It is a PRIVLEDGE, not a right to play football at UGA or any other school in the country. He will get his pay day in the NFL. I don’t care how much money the school or NCAA makes off his jersey. The rules are the rules. If he doesn’t like it, he can join Maurice Clarett in the UFL.
5IML
September 9th, 2010
10:57 am
Bama Dude,
Marcel was gullible (and stupid) enough to think that Marvin Austin had the money to fly him to Miami and house him twice. During the second trip, Marcel found out an agent was involved and immediately returned to Tuscaloosa. He reported the trips to Saban who referred him to BAMA’s compliance officers. They contacted the NCAA, and Dareus spilled his guts.
We don’t know all the facts of AJ’s case but Marcel’s case appears to be a lot different.
Sunday Snacks: JerseyGate blows up the web « Rachel G. Bowers
September 9th, 2010
10:58 am
[...] it to Mr. College Football to play devil’s advocate. Tony Barnhart gives the flip side of the argument. A.J. did something Georgia does everyday — make a profit off the coveted No. 8 [...]
BigTimeTECHFan
September 9th, 2010
10:58 am
NFL should just let player play right out of high school, If kid want to make money go to the NFL.
TB – Should High school player get paid?
If Green stands to make loads of money next year, did the scholarship at UGA help him at all. I would say yes.
– His classes helped
– The weight room UGA paid for helped
– The coaching staff that UGA paid for helped
– His getting to perform and get his name known by playing in NCAA helped
He just had major need now, needed money, broke the rules.
How TB, who I’m a big fan of to say he or other athletes are not benefiting from collage football is flat out stupid.
BIG DOG
September 9th, 2010
10:59 am
It dosen’t matter how good the player is.If you want to see the teems at full strength don’t break the freakin rules and lie about it.It’s the same old sh-t.How many UGA players have been arrested this year?How many last year?UGA fans think they are an elite national program,in fact they are a joke.How many players are suspended and why?But boy they sure can run fast,I meen hell he’s a five star recruit.It’s like THE OLD BALL COACH says UGA gets all these great recruits I just don’t know what happens to them when they get to Athens.Whats next for UGA I haven’t read todays paper
BAMA Dude
September 9th, 2010
10:59 am
That’s what I meant about a plea bargain of sorts. Some even suggest that he turned in AJ since they weren’t looking at AJ until the Miami affair came up.
south tifton
September 9th, 2010
11:00 am
poor catlady
uga has NEVER been about education
it has ALWAYS been about breaking rules, creating remedial courses, and joke studies to use illiterate athletes to generate revenue,
not for the school, but for the uga athletic association.
while the uga aa is spending $40 million on a new athletic admin building the UNIVERSITY is actually laying off professors
uga is a joke
GT79
September 9th, 2010
11:00 am
Embarrassing the SEC????…..now that is really hard to do
Sharkman
September 9th, 2010
11:00 am
Should student athletes get some renumeration for bringing in millions of dollars for their schools? Of course! But, but, but, right now the RULES don’t allow it. If you want to change the rules, then DO IT! But, until then follow them. That’s all.
reservoirDAWG
September 9th, 2010
11:01 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZOYy4a40JI&feature=related
gatorman770
September 9th, 2010
11:01 am
NCAA enforcement officials = Judge Roy Butthead!
db
September 9th, 2010
11:01 am
And one more thing. Slam one or two agents against the wall by stripping their licenses and maybe this type of stuff will stop on its on. Again, bad behavior, by the agents, this time, getting rewarded by enticing a young man when he knows it’s against the rules.
404
September 9th, 2010
11:02 am
George said: “This is not a unspeakable human tragedy.”
But to UGA mouth-piece Barnhart,
and the overwhelming majority of UGA fans…it is.
Truly pathetic
db
September 9th, 2010
11:02 am
BIGDOG – That would be 9. 9 Uga players arrested this year. I think that’s about the same amount as last years, give or take one or two.
Dirty Dawg
September 9th, 2010
11:03 am
Oh yeah, as for the institutions, and the coaches for that matter, being able to ‘cash in’ on the celebrity of these kids but they don’t get a dime of it, what if a percentage of every dollar made on the sale of ‘personalized’ memorabilia, or ’shoe and/or uniform contracts, or whatever, were to be set aside, in escrow, to be awarded to players once they complete their eligibility? And even if they leave early they wouldn’t receive it until their ‘class’ graduates (or the four years is up)…maybe even players whose stuff wasn’t in demand could receive a percentage of the ‘pot’ as well….
Oh well, just spit-ballin’…
DIT
September 9th, 2010
11:04 am
This UGA Alum totally blames AJ. I went to college on a baseball scholly, decades ago, and one of the first things they go over is just this. This is all AJ’s fault. I’m sure he’s feeling now because he has let the team down.
I don’t want to hear about the NCAA being too harsh. That is crap! He was told, he knew better, but decided to do it anyway. Like Tony said, he is a couple months away from making millions. Stupid decision. At saying that, I’m not saying that AJ is a bad kid. He just made a bad decision. From what I read about AJ he seems to be a good person.
Dawgs have to dig deep and find away to get over this loss and get ready for SC.
San Francisco Dawg
September 9th, 2010
11:04 am
Above all of this is how Green did something that Richt said not to. These guys are advised countless times about the evils of dealing with agents and what and how much money they can make by working odd jobs, etc. Green is on a full scholarship ride, period. He knew the consequences of his actions, he presumably lied to investigators, he has now hurt his team. I think the suspension is fair considering his actions. AJ was given a great opportunity to play football, get an education and learn about life experiences. This will be one of those experiences.
Time
September 9th, 2010
11:05 am
“A school like Georgia should be able to sell all of the No. 8 jerseys it wants.”
Yes it should be able to. Question is, next year, when AJ is gone, will they still be selling that #8 jersey? Of course not. They’ll be selling the number of whoever is next in line in the popularity ranks that remain on the team.
The NCAA and frankly the schools that are members are all about as hypocritical as they could possibly be. But, to be honest, what else would we ever expect from the bastions of leftist ideology that make up the majority of NCAA member institutions (UGA included). It’s the same old we know better than you, we’ll do what we want no matter whether you the little guy likes it or not mentality that brought us Obamacare.
db
September 9th, 2010
11:05 am
And lastly, I find it embarrassing that UGA is EVEN going to appeal this. Mark R and company, take your medicine, learn from it and MOVE ON.
Dawg Trainer
September 9th, 2010
11:05 am
Not a Dawg fan by any stretch of the imagination. Am a AJ Green fan since he was at Summerville High. Not going to pile on the guy…but let’s just say I’m not surprised one little bit about this. Take a little time to look at his family situtation and all is explained.
DawgDad
September 9th, 2010
11:07 am
You are dead wrong about this. Selling his jersey calls into question his amateur status; if the players are profiting (beyond scholarship opportunity) from their athletic identity or accomplishments then they aren’t really amateurs, are they?
The schools have every right to profit off of their athletic programs, and the students have none. You may think the scales are tipped a bit unfairly, but that is the very definition of the playing field of “amateur athletics”. Most of us believe “amateur” is already a farcial concept in practice, but the NCAA is the body charged with overseeing and preserving the system. They are just doing their job.
Green knew the rules, and he has no legitimate grounds for claiming not to understand the concept of “amateur athlete”. There is no shade of gray here.
Now, if you want to talk about eliminating the whole concept of amateur athletics in the NCAA, then we can have a serious discussion. I think there should be two tracks, amateur and semi-pro, and schools should have to declare their program into one class or the other. If they choose semi-pro then the athletes should demand compensation, be able to unionize, etc. If they choose amateur then everyone needs to play by those rules.
NikkiFree
September 9th, 2010
11:08 am
Great read, TB. I hope you’re right abt the NCAA reconsidering the length of the suspension upon appeal. After all, Green had contacgt with an agent but so did Dareus in Alabama. Dareus had almost $2000 in benefits received. Twice as much as Green’s. I think a 2-game suspension is more than fair.
The NCAA needs to watch it’s back. One year, these student-athletes are gonna rise up and file a class-action lawsuit on some of these rules….like the one that got Green.
Dave
September 9th, 2010
11:09 am
I have seen many comments about the inherent unfairness of the deal the athlete gets when he accepts the scholarship.
Many points are valid, some are not.
I wonder when some athlete who made big money for the university, yet was not quite good enough to make it big in the NFL (think David Green), will end up suing the school and the NCAA for HIS/HER share of the money made with his name.
THAT would be an interesting lawsuit to watch work its way through the court system.
BAMA Dude
September 9th, 2010
11:09 am
How is it hypocritical for a business to be able to profit from the sale of proprietary merchandise while not allowing an amateur athlete to do the same? Nothing AJ did is illegal in terms of law, just against the rules of the institution he agreed to play football for in exchange for a free education. Since he broke their rules, they have decided he can’t play football for awhile.
Still can’t see why anyone would have any problem here.
HANGMAN
September 9th, 2010
11:10 am
first….sportsguru95 …WHAT DID YOU SAY?
AJ APPARENTLY HAS BEEN LYING SINCE DAY ONE. HE SHOULD HAVE HIS SCHOLARSHIP TAKEN AWAY.
A SIMILAR PROBLEM OR WORSE COULD BE AVOIDED BY TAKING THE SCHOLARSHIP AWAY FROM THE SELF-ORDAINED PREACHER’S KID IN SOUTH CAROLINA. He will nothing but TROUBLE!
Watch this post go away in 10 minutes or less (AJC’s way of controling the truth)
DIT
September 9th, 2010
11:10 am
Great post DawgDad!
NCAA is outdated
September 9th, 2010
11:10 am
Face it people, if you look at this from the players’ perspective, the whole system is designed to profit greatly at their expense. So the kid gets a scholarship worth $250k… the school and the NCAA make that in 1 game!!! It’s time to forget the foolish notion that college football is an amateur sport any longer. I don’t blame a single one of these kids for taking whatever they can get, considering that the people who are supposed to be looking out for them are only looking for a bigger payday for themselves. The value of a scholarship is no longer fair compensation for the revenue the players’ generate. End of story.
mafincaa
September 9th, 2010
11:15 am
All of you who keep saying the players get a “free” education are clueless. These kids put in countless hours of hard work all year to keep their “free” ride. They are working for their education just like everyone else. If they don’t work the school takes the scholarship away.
BAMA Dude
September 9th, 2010
11:15 am
When students’ research leads to technological breakthrough, do the students get compensated? These are 18-to-21-year-olds. They can wait their turn for their money. As someone mentioned above, their football career is their internship.
Dan
September 9th, 2010
11:17 am
Sorry dude knew the rules. UGA players got in trouble for selling their Sugar Bowl rings a few back so to say he didnt know it was wrong he is crazy and I am pretty sure they all get the speech every year of what they cant do from their coaches. Look they get a free education they know that going in. I wish I had the oportunity to have a free education.
hobnailboot
September 9th, 2010
11:17 am
The NCAA should be investigated for inconsistentcy in the punishments it hands out. They are like the Mafia. I hope that Adams and Mcgarity have the balls to go to war with these corrupt thugs. I hope that we thump the next three teams without A.J. It would make victory much sweeter. There is no one to keep the NCAA in check and they know that. Maybe a Congressional inquiry into the NCAA is called for here. Marlon Brown and Israel Troupe must step up!
Hatfieldgeoff
September 9th, 2010
11:17 am
Hey Tony’s a Homer, Get off your high horse. If UGA is leading the SEC in off-field problems, then it is a neck-and-neck race. And don’t forget breaking NCAA rules and breaking the law are two different things. Green sells his jersey and gets a 4-game suspension. At Tennessee you can assault a cop and various bar patrons and not get suspended at all. Masoli is a thief and he gets to transfer and play right away for Ole Miss. And I’m sure there is at least one good example for every SEC team as well as the other major football schools across the country. Getting back to UGA should I trade you two driving-on-a-suspended-licence problems and two underage-drinking beefs for one armed robbery. It’s not really the # of incidents everyone should get excited about it is the seriousness of the crimes. Remember while the NCAA may act like the Gestapo they are not. It’s nickel and dime rules instated to prevent any major financial benefits to players. Green broke a rule not a law, but most fanatics like you can’t perceive the diffence. Assualt on a policeman or a girlfrend doesn’t matter unless a player loses a few games as a result. Misdemeanors among college age young men are going to happen and they should be punished and the same with NCAA rules. But fans need to understand the difference. Green didn’t break the law and his teammates that did committed only minor infraction. The two deemed more serious are gone. Meanwhile major college rosters are sprinkled with felons of various degrees. So wake up and learn how to put things in perspective. There are a number of players in the SEC and elsewhere fans should be embarassed about but none of them play at UGA.
Silverdogg
September 9th, 2010
11:17 am
Tony, the Jersey belongs to the University of Georgia, he is priveledged enough to wear the Red and Black. Replica Jersey’s sold by the school fo not have player’s names on them, so if you are purchasing a no. 8 jersey you could just as well be buying it because you were a fan of Tony Flack or some other Bulldog who wore the number. In reference to the amount of money the school makes from football and no money being provided to the players. take a guess how much it would cost the average stident to go to school at UGA for 4-5 years, not to mention room and board, food, medical care, and the subsitence pay the players receive monthly.
BAMA Dude
September 9th, 2010
11:18 am
mafincaa
September 9th, 2010
11:15 am
All of you who keep saying the players get a “free” education are clueless. These kids put in countless hours of hard work all year to keep their “free” ride. They are working for their education just like everyone else. If they don’t work the school takes the scholarship away.
I guess free is a poor choice of words, but they agree to play football and represent that school in exchange for an education. Those terms are plenty fair.