Paul Johnson: Ex-college stars should be punished for actions
Willis McGahee said goodbye to Miami years ago but if Paul Johnson had his way, players who took illegal benefits would pay a price.
If the claims of convicted felon Nevin Shapiro are to be believed, he gave money, cars and assorted impermissible benefits to 72 Miami football players and other athletes over a nine-year period (2002-10). The Hurricanes are expected to be hit with NCAA probation as a result of this.
But what happens to all of those former Miami players? Nothing. That’s why Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson believes there needs to be some type of legislation that follows an athlete and acts as a deterrent for those taking illegal benefits.
“In my mind it’s not going to change until you do something to the people who are involved in [receiving things],” Johnson said. “You can maybe smear their name, but what happens to them? They still get to sign big contracts. The guys who are left to get punished are the guys who didn’t know what was going on.”
This is a little bit of a sensitive topic at Tech. The Jackets were put on probation and forfeited their 2009 ACC championship (pending appeal) because the NCAA believed Tech obstructed the investigation into whether former players Demaryius Thomas and Morgan Burnett received extra benefits. It never actually was proven either player took something. But ultimately the program paid the price for an investigation stemming from the perceived actions of the two players.
The NFL recently made an example of former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor for five games prior to the supplemental draft, which is believed to be a carryover from the five games he would’ve missed at OSU. But in general, getting NFL and NBA teams to sign off on disciplinary actions for illegal actions committed in college will be be difficult.
Miami has declared eight players, including quarterback Jacory Harris, ineligible for the Sept. 5 opener against Maryland. There’s a chance the NCAA may reinstate some players. But Johnson’s issue is with programs paying a price for departed players. In the case of Miami, former stars Devin Hester, Willis McGahee and Antrel Rolle were among the players Shapiro claims to have given gifts to while they were there.
Johnson again: “If I’m a guy who comes up and I didn’t have a whole lot, I didn’t have a lot of money or possessions, you can see why kids say, ‘Well, they’re going to give me $2,000 and I needed the money. I had a kid or I had this or that.’ Unless there’s some deterrent, [why not]? If this goes back to 2002, nothing’s going to happen to those players. It’s going to happen to 80 percent of the kids who were there and didn’t know anything about it.”
He also believes that any coaches or administrators aware of improper benefits should pay a price but believes that’s usually not the case.
“As a head coach you’re ultimately responsible for everything that goes on, but at the same time how realistic is that?” he said. “You can watch to see what kind of car they drive or this, that or the other. But all you can really do is teach them what’s right and what’s wrong and ultimately you just have to hope what they do is right.”
Do you agree with Johnson? Should punishments follow former college stars into the pros?
By Jeff Schultz
♦
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC; friend me at Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
158 comments Add your comment
Am I the only one....
August 29th, 2011
2:14 pm
Dumb…..Not first
Am I the only one....
August 29th, 2011
2:16 pm
I stand corrected. I was first…..
How can you legislate this? Who enforces this and who metes out the punishment? It’s like cheating on an exam. You get tossed out of school, but should you get fined or jailed too?
jarvis
August 29th, 2011
2:21 pm
He must be a Dem. Congress has no role in the oversight of amatuer athletics. The whole idea is nonsense.
JJ
August 29th, 2011
2:23 pm
It is not illegal, it is just against the rules of the NCAA.
GT Rich
August 29th, 2011
2:25 pm
Punishment could follow, but it never does — it’s called the IRS. Unclaimed gifts = tax evasion. You’re supposed to report any and all income, even gifts.
Incremental punishment should be that the kids sign a scholarship contract that stipulates all scholarship monies must be reimbursed to that school in the event that they are proven as knowing recipients of impermissable benefits in excess of a cumulative minimum amount, i.e. $300. Schools should have to refund any bowl earnings received in the event that they played inelligible players. In that scenario, those same players could potentially be sued to pay the school’s lost bowl earnings.
jarvis
August 29th, 2011
2:27 pm
GT Rich, I’ve thought about that, but the IRS would have to come up with hard figures. Burden of proof is on them, and aren’t gifts up to a certain amount non-taxable?
techfan
August 29th, 2011
2:29 pm
I don’t agree with him on this one. The NFL and the NCAA should be independent of each other and it should be the NCAA’s job to enforce their own rules. I’m not sure how to fix this dilemma but mixing a professional organization and an amateur organization should not be the way to fix issues with the amateur organization.
matt r
August 29th, 2011
2:31 pm
Don’t see how this is possible, but he is right that with no fear of personal punishment, there really is no motivation to follow rules. And he is also right that the NCAA is usually (and randomly) punishing the wrong people. Jay Bilas’s ideas of letting kids make money on their own likenesses (not affiliated with specific college) intrigue me.
ed
August 29th, 2011
2:34 pm
hey fish fry, our lawmakers should have “bigger fish to fry”
reebok
August 29th, 2011
2:40 pm
i get the coach’s point, but i don’t see how this could be managed.
Innocent Bystander
August 29th, 2011
2:43 pm
PJ is a no-nonsense type of guy as is, so of course he’s going to take the stance of personal responsibility and having consequences to one’s actions.
The implementation of how to actually ensure those who break the rules should be punished is up for discussion, but PJ is dead on that at the end of the day, each person (be it coach, player, agent, etc) must own up to their actions.
1eyedJack
August 29th, 2011
2:43 pm
Let’s just step back and look at who is receiving all the free stuff. Hmmmm. It’s all coming clear to me now.
2HLLWGA
August 29th, 2011
2:47 pm
At least Johnson is thinking about hwo to punish the offenders, not punish “innocent” kids who knew nothing about the transgrssions. No one else seems to have any ideas on how to punish the actual offenders. Think about the kids at USC who lost out because Reggie bush was very greedy.
The NFL has the ability ot use the public embarrassment clause to punish a player that brings embarrassment to their team or the NFL. This enacted with the Reggie Bush problems.
Coach13
August 29th, 2011
2:50 pm
Absolutely they should be punished. Like he said, players like Reggie Bush go on to sign mulit million dollar contracts while players that were in the 8th grade at the time of the infraction are punished because they play for USC. Different coaching staff too.
What is the incentive to NOT take money, cars, etc. if I’m not the one who is going to get in trouble??
1eyedJack
August 29th, 2011
2:50 pm
Hang ‘em in the public square!
atlindenver
August 29th, 2011
2:50 pm
Everyone seems to assume that all these kids that are getting extra benefits are making millions in the NFL and can be punished through the NFL. For every one kid that goes on to make big bucks in the NFL, there are ten others who are driving a UPS truck or cut in training camp or working in a cubicle once their eligibility is used up.
Are you going to garnish their wages when they are making $20 an hour? Where does it all stop?
Tech '10
August 29th, 2011
2:54 pm
I like the idea but, as others have already pointed out, how are you going to enforce it?
DAWG FAN FROM DOUGLISVILLE
August 29th, 2011
2:54 pm
TEEL ME WHERE I CAN MAKE $20 AN HOUR!
I WOOD LOVE 2 MAKE THAT MUCH MOENY!
GTJohn
August 29th, 2011
3:03 pm
The only way to fix this is to recruit real student-athletes. That stopped long ago.
I do agree with CPJ, however. and the people involved should be the ones punished, not those left behind.
Frank Lane
August 29th, 2011
3:10 pm
Absolutely. Fine them millions that they have to give back to their school. At least 20 times or 50 times what they received.
bitter-wingless bee
August 29th, 2011
3:11 pm
CPJ—–STANDS FOR—CHILE—POT ROST—JAM
———————————————–yum-yum
radlydawg
August 29th, 2011
3:12 pm
And you Jarvis….must be a card carrying idiot!!! Since when do Dem’s and Rep’s have anything to do with what is right or what is wrong? Coach Johnson is a good man, great football coach, and is full of integrity! He wants to prepare his ball players for life…not prison. They should be held accountable!!! Why should those who are at the school after the thugs leave…be held accountable?? Anyone, with a shred of integrity would agree 1000%!!! Now Jarvis, you can go crawl back under your rock. If you had two brains….you other one would be lonely!!!!!!!
Radly Dawg
Mark (another one)
August 29th, 2011
3:16 pm
When these players sign the scholarship agreements (a contract), they agreed to follow the rules of the NCAA. The universities have real damages from the violations called a breach of contract. Johnson simply has to get the University legal dept. to sue the violators in civil court.
The issue is that if only one or two schools sue, the rest will use it against them in recruiting. Thus, they won’t do it and they are stuck with this mess. The NCAA could simply require all schools to sue contract violators but they won’t do that either.
MARTA Rida
August 29th, 2011
3:18 pm
Increase the stippen that college athletes recieve. How can these men live on the little bit of money NCAA gives them while they make the big-name schools millions of dollars. Its not far, many of those players grew up with nothing and want some sort of payment for filling the stands and endorsement deals.
Bohica
August 29th, 2011
3:20 pm
The only thing you can do is this. Turn the LOI/Scholarships into contracts with at stated value. Put language in them which entitles the NCAA (not the schools) to go after anyone who violates it’s provisions. If these things happen, the NCAA sues the former SAs involved.
Beast from the East
August 29th, 2011
3:22 pm
The only way to punish ex-players is to sue them for whatever lost income the university incurs. That would be almost impossible to put a dollar amount on and probably cost more in laywers fees than the actual value.
The only other way is to strike all of their stats from the record books at the school. Not much of a deterrent to a kid that obviously didn’t care too much to begin with if they put the school in harm’s way.
Flawed system.
Son of Tech
August 29th, 2011
3:29 pm
Why not spin this around and go after the people providing the benefits? I believe it should be a joint venture between the NCAA and the NFL, but put the restrictions on the agents if they are found to be providing benefits. In the case of boosters, the majority of the ones who are providing benefits to the payers are truly obsessed with the programs. It seems that the best thing they could do with those people would be to completely bar them from all events associated with that particular school. The threat of losing your passion should be enough to atleast make you think twice about it.
GatorTech
August 29th, 2011
3:32 pm
Just reinforces the REALITY that college sports are NOT amature athletics – even in the minds of the coaches and players. The NCAA serves as the minor leagues for the NFL and the NBA …. and everybody knows it. How else could you possibly explain the idea that the “PRO” league will punish a player for something they did that was against the rules of the “amature” leage they played in before. Unless, of course, you acknowledge that the two leagues ARE actually connected in more than an informal way. This is Rediculous …..
GTFanForever
August 29th, 2011
3:37 pm
If Coach or Admin are involved, lose job and banned from NCAA for appropriate time. Contracts should read as such.
If player is involved, lose scholarship and banned from NCAA member schools.
Most importantly, NFL should start their own minor league system and quit using college football for such. Ever hear about NCAA violations (I’m sure some have happened) in baseball? Allow obvious pro-bound players to go on to NFL minor league and get paid. Allow players to enter college should they conclude NFL is not for them. However, they must meet academic requirements and they lose a year of college play for each year in NFL minor system. Simple, kids will find out fast if they are NFL bound. If not, then they will come to college knowing they must be serious in the classroom. Also, these kids will pick the University based on Academic offering verses what type offense the coach employees. Novel idea, huh?
1eyedJack
August 29th, 2011
3:41 pm
Start a new television show and send them before Judge Judy.
cantondawg
August 29th, 2011
3:43 pm
The NCAA punishment system is perhaps the most stupid in all of the world. An athlete breaks the rule which says you cannot receive impermissible benefit. The athlete receives the benefit and most of the time this isn’t caught until after the athlete has graduated. What does the NCAA do about this. They punish the school by reducing scholarship. This means that some player out there who may have always wanted to go to that school cannot now because of a reduction in scholarship. The NCAA punishes the innocent parties and the guilty ones get off.
ezra
August 29th, 2011
3:46 pm
First, do away with punising the entire team! You can then recruit the help of the lame stream media to attack the guilty player every day of his career–just like they do the conservatives.
tony martin
August 29th, 2011
3:46 pm
Go back to recruiting character instead of that five star recruit from poverty. Give them money for laundry,and if they don’t want to wash their clothes they can use for other things.
PMC
August 29th, 2011
3:46 pm
Kind of hard to listen to a guy who was JUST part of an NCAA investigation dealing with creating fictional stories to tell the NCAA.
PMC
August 29th, 2011
3:47 pm
……rocks and glass houses…. something to that effect.
dawg day afternoon
August 29th, 2011
3:47 pm
WANTED: Cheaters and rule breakers
REWARD: Fried fish and hushpuppies
ezra
August 29th, 2011
3:48 pm
NCAA is a joke! Punish innocent players and can never punish the guilty players. It is time to make the NCAA impotent.
DawginLex
August 29th, 2011
3:49 pm
So Johnson is saying that since Ohio state and Miami both cheated BIG TIME in 2002, that makes Georgia National champions?
We all know we would have beaten Ohio state anyway……….
Paddy
August 29th, 2011
3:50 pm
Dawg in Douglasville…….All you need to do is go to solder school at a JC. I used to work at such a place and we had 95 regular folks making $18 to $29 an hour. Probationers started at $18. Those jobs are out there it just takes a little training.
CONservative Johnson
August 29th, 2011
3:54 pm
Unless the NCAA athletes are going to be members of the NFLPA, NBPA, etc., then the leagues should have no jurisdiction on ANYTHING they do with regards to NCAA rules . . .
wxwax
August 29th, 2011
3:54 pm
Johnson doesn’t get it.
The problems will never go away until the system is overhauled.
Trying to enforce a broken system with more levels of punishment is like treating cancer with aspirin. It’s not getting at the root cause.
While Johnson makes his $100,000’s per year, other coaches make their millions and the schools make their tens of millions, the athletes go empty-handed.
As long as that inequity exists, so too will backroom deals. The system and its one-sided, corrupt notion of amateurism are the problem.
The Olympics found a solution. It’s time the universities did too.
1eyedJack
August 29th, 2011
3:55 pm
How ’bout this. Ban recruiting. Make all athletes meet the same academic requirements as other students of the Institution. Have student-athletes try out for the team and reward those that make it with an athletic scholarship.
wxwax
August 29th, 2011
3:58 pm
Innocent Bystander
PJ is a no-nonsense type of guy as is, so of course he’s going to take the stance of personal responsibility and having consequences to one’s actions.
———————————————————————————————————————————————-
That’s a laugh. Johnson was given a specific instruction by the NCAA to not discuss the investigation. He did so anyway.
When he was punished for it, he whined and complained.
How is that an example of personal responsibility? Walk the talk, Johnson.
GT
August 29th, 2011
4:00 pm
And this is EXACTLY why Paul Johnson can not recruit!! and Ultimatly why he can’t win at this level….
KZGuy
August 29th, 2011
4:02 pm
Well just stay tuned folks. Look what is happening to the OSU quarterback Pryor. How can the NFL suspend him for five games when he has not broken any NFL rules just some NCAA rules. Looks Roger Goodell is throwing the NCAA a bone in order to keep the free player pipeline open.
GT
August 29th, 2011
4:02 pm
wxwax,
You are SOOOO corect!! Most people who watch Colleg football miss this and don’t understand this..
GT GRAD
August 29th, 2011
4:06 pm
PJ is correct………..the players/coaches/boosters ACTUALLY involved in the infractions should be punished. The problem is that these are usually the guys that get away scott free!
The innocent players or coaches who follow the less-than-high-character coaches end up paying the price.
GT has a long proud history (and I truly believe always will) of making a serious and concerted effort to play by ALL of the rules, however……….GT & Coach PJ proved the NCAA commitee can and will bring down the almighty hammer if you try to live right AND state that you live right AND tell the NCAA investigators they can ask anyone anything AND deny to admit you did anything wrong when you did not do anything wrong.
GT
August 29th, 2011
4:09 pm
College football is the BIGGEST scandel…players play for FREE while coaches and institutions get Millions!!
former1990 Player
August 29th, 2011
4:10 pm
PJ wasn’t punished for Tech going on probation. Wins some games PJ and maybe we will start to listen to you
Worm
August 29th, 2011
4:13 pm
It’s called institutional control or lack thereof..If a kid has something you KNOW he can’t afford, you investigate…Cars,jewelry,electronics etc.
collegeballfan
August 29th, 2011
4:13 pm
The problem is the NCAA has rules which do not apply outside the NCAA.
The best way is to say that the coaches who cheat are banned from NCAA institutions for 5 years, 10 years or for life. But that only covers coaching misconduct.
For player misconduct Johnson is correct, the NCAA and the NFL, NBA and MLB could neogiate a contract between the four that would let penalties from the NCAA extend into the professional ranks. The colleges do serve as a farm system for the NFL and NBA more than for MLB, which has its own farm system.
Other than that you will never stop kids from selling a jersey or taking a free night in a cat house.
FairandBalanced
August 29th, 2011
4:15 pm
If you take money or gifts after signing a scholarship letter, you can assume you are violating that letter, which is in essence a contract. They could write the letter to state the violation as a theft of service, which is really what it is, and arrest violators. That said, they should give a small stipend to the revenue-sports athletes, as they are not allowed to work while school is in session. Give them laundry and pizza money from the billions that they bring into the schools. Stop pretending they are more student than athlete. Also, ban boosters from the field and from direct, unsupervised contact with the players. They can’t make it a law, but they can take their season tickets for life. Boosters and agents compound a coach’s already extremely stressful and difficult job. Oh, and UPS driver is a very respectable occupation.
Jacket Fever
August 29th, 2011
4:15 pm
Make scholarships worth 4 years instead of the current year to year, renewable ones. Then when the recruit signs the dotted line, have them sign where it reads “if I accept benefits, I will pay the ENTIRE value (plus inflation )of the scholarship back to the institution”.
ACC Champs: my T-shirt doesn't lie!
August 29th, 2011
4:15 pm
Mr Wax, did Coach Johnson even talk to the nzaa investigator?
beebee
August 29th, 2011
4:16 pm
Johson, just SHADDUP!
Yes, I’m a Tech fan. The tiny little bit of glory (from 2009) is about to be messed up because perhaps you and your AD failed to practice due diligence.
Get your butt and this team READY for your opener and the rest of the season, and especially UGA!
bee
Always a Jacket
August 29th, 2011
4:19 pm
I agree with CPJ. Hold individuals accountable and punish the guilty. If the school is guilty, then punish the school. But CPJ was referring to the student athlete. Why should any school be punished for something they did everything reasonable to prevent, but a 19 year old kid decided to break the rules anyway.
While OSU is not the perferct example (it was more than a student athlete breaking the rules), The NFL suspension of of TP appears to be the first step in the right direction (until the players union objects).
If the athlete is not NFL bound, then kick them out of school and/or withhold diploma and dont let them jump to another program without some punishment. If they are NFL bound, then suspend them on that end. dont punish the kids that followed the rules by hurting the school.
The current system punishes the schools that self report minor infractions that many schools would overlook. UGA has to sit their a player for selling a jersey, but TP drives a new Nissan every year and gets to play and compete all season. The system is broke.
Concerned Parent
August 29th, 2011
4:22 pm
Players should be paid in college along with their Tuition and then you woul dnot have this problem. They work and play as hard as the coaches so you don’t have to give them a lot but give them enough as if they had a part time job. They can’t work because they are either doing school work, working out, playing or tyring to catch up on rest. Just pay them across the board.
bill
August 29th, 2011
4:26 pm
The NCAA is operating in an system originally drawn up in the early 1900’s before college sports became the big business it has now become.
They are enforcing outdated laws and inherently don’t address the special issues that the athletes that come from limited means are seeing.
Here’s some possible pieces to the solution:
1. Since the players are essentially ambassadors of the university, pay them as you would pay any employee of the school, (including benefits,etc) or at the very least, pay the players more than the monthly stipends they currently receive.
Also, include a athlete/school split of the gate receipts, merchandise, etc…
2. Put into any scolarship:
A timetable for the scolarship given to be open for degree completion.
(7-10 years, negotiable). So if the player gets hurt and can no longer play, at least he won’t be put out in the streets.
A morals clause in the scolarship.
If the athlete is out of school and it is discovered that he knowingly broke this clause for taking “improper” benefits , any money amount will be payable back to the university for x number of years. (negotiable)
If the athlete breaks the law x number of times (negotiable), he’s out.
If the athlete flunks out of school, he should be treated as any other student would be in this manner.
Not a complete solution, but a least a couple of ideas to get the NCAA up to speed with the times from a former student/athlete from the late 80’s…
bill
August 29th, 2011
4:28 pm
Oops.
scolarship = scholarship
FairandBalanced
August 29th, 2011
4:30 pm
Well said Bill.
Tech Fan Since 1950
August 29th, 2011
4:31 pm
The BCS plays under the NCAA umbrella, but guess what? The BCS ignores the NCAA and makes up its own national championship with duel citizenship teams (BCS and NCAA—of course the great folks at ESPN sponsoring it) getting credit on their win-lost records by beating up on non BCS teams. The NCAA is just weak and not consistent in so many ways. Tech is primarily at fault for allegedly not cooperating to the apparent degree the NCAA wanted. If they are going to reinstate Miami players or whomever at some other schools, then their actions against Tech should be null and void. On the surface I blame Tech for letting this situation get out of hand, but I do think the Athletic Director was within his rights of informing his head coach of a situation that needed to be corrected or acknowledged. Tech’s compliance attitude and communications seemed to be the real problem.
bill
August 29th, 2011
4:32 pm
Thank you, FairandBalanced
Tekkie
August 29th, 2011
4:41 pm
Wrong, Coach!!
Last time I checked, this is not illegal under the statute of law. It is only against the rules of the NCAA.
1Jacket7
August 29th, 2011
4:42 pm
Here is how you stop these things from happening. 1. Athlete signs contract that informs he/she that taking monetary gifts from an agent or booster will result in an immediate ban from college sports for themselves and and any child or children that they have. 2. Suspend the Agent from conducting business with the Pro system for life. 3. If the institution is involved. The involved parties will be required to pay hefty fines and firings. Players not involved will not lose games or championships or wins. You can’t take back a game already played so that notion has always been silly. The penalty should be in the present and future. These things target the source and make people reconsider violating the rules.
Mark (another one)
August 29th, 2011
4:43 pm
Here are the existing contracts:
School to the NCAA. We will follow your rules and pay your membership dues in exchange for particating in your programs.
School to players: You get a full-ride scholarship to our University and in exchange you will play football for our team and abide by all NCAA and school rules.
There is no contract between the NCAA and the player, so the NCAA can’t sue the player for breach of contract. The NCAA has to penalize the school.
The school and the player have a contract, and the school is not asking the courts to enforce it. Their decision. Their mess. When a player breaches the contract with the school, the school should take the player to court and ask the court for the appropriate remedy. That should include the cost to the institution of the scholarship and any losses assoicated with the breach such as a bowl ban or loss of additional scholarships and TV money.
So what if some of these players don’t sign professional contracts. Many do and almost all of them want to, especially the ones that can get money to play.
MiamiJacket
August 29th, 2011
4:47 pm
How about this? Any player caught receiving impermissible benefits while in college won’t be eligible to be drafted until the 4th round of the NFL draft (day 3). That should do the trick. That would possilby equate to millions of dollars in the value of the first contract for any player who is caught.
Any player caught receiving impermissible benefits after they were drafted and already in the league will then lose the guaranteed portion of their current contract. Therefore, the player’s entire current contract would automatically become fully non-guaranteed.
cdog
August 29th, 2011
4:57 pm
Best answer-Athlete and school agree to scholarship. If the player accepts illegal gifts, help, or cheats on exams etc., Player is subject to paying back scholarship. On the School side, scholarships need to be honored, and not dropped b/c a much better player is available to the coach the next year. If players commit to a school to play FB, or Basketbal, that coach/school should not be able to pull the scholarship if the player is getting grades, going to practice, and keeping his nose clean. If the school recruits a player and the player isnt as good as the school hoped he be, well do a better job recruiting.
Tax Nerd
August 29th, 2011
5:00 pm
Jarvis,
Gifts are nontaxable up to $13,000 per donee. So if Player A gets gift from Agent V of $12,000, Agent R of $7,000 and Agent Q of $10,000, none of those gifts are taxable as they are each below the annual exclusion amount of $13,000. There is also no filing requirement by either party. In the IRS’s eyes, anything less than 13,000 is just a small present not worth their time.
Things like cars, jewelry, and other possessions are value based on their fair market value.
So, their could be some IRS following, but for the most part, gifts given to athletes are well under 13,000 and therefore not taxable or not a gift in the eyes of the IRS.
ACC Champs: my T-shirt doesn't lie!
August 29th, 2011
5:02 pm
This certainly would help with the employment of lawyers and investigators trying to prove some something difficult to prove…etc…etc
I like coaches…but some things are just politically incorrect.
GUNGA DIN
August 29th, 2011
5:08 pm
schools need clause in the scholarship agreement that allows them to file suit against player for actual damages if they knowingly violate the NCAA rules. a couple of million dollar plus lawsuits against the players would make others think twice about screwing around with the rules.
The Producer
August 29th, 2011
5:10 pm
That’s right coach, you can make all your millions on the backs these young athletes and then suspend them as soon as they get an ice cream sandwich from a booster. You got your side hustle with the TV/Radio contract along with the other endorsements and these players can’t get a free shirt from the same people you endorse. Pimping ain’t cool, it’s a hustle. By your comments, I think that you, the school and the ncaa are pimps. Why punish the athletes and why not the coach.
Love Sports
August 29th, 2011
5:10 pm
I love college sports, but the pursuit of these kids are going too far. Most of these kids are very poor, and their families are poor. The colleges get an indentured servant and the kids in a lot of cases get nothing in return. Everyone on the sideline including coaches, assistances, and press are getting paid, but the people the fans actually pay to see; the students, are not. A college president can go out to a fancy dinner paid for by the money received from people whom pay to see these kids, but if a kid take a sandwich or have his mom light bill paid he is vilified as if they are common criminals. The system needs to be abolished.
northern neighbor
August 29th, 2011
5:12 pm
JJ is right – “It is not illegal, it is just against the rules of the NCAA.”
Football needs to do what baseball does and what soccer does. Let a kid turn pro out of high school. The NFL needs to pony up the money for a minor league system. There is no sense in making a kid go to college just because he wants to be a professional athlete.
The next best option is to tax the NFL or each drafted player to fund a pool for paying the ’student’ athletes on some scale that includes grades and attendance, plus a bonus for graduating.
NCAA Critic
August 29th, 2011
5:13 pm
The sad truth is that we are addicted to college football. As long as we so willingly part with billions of our dollars, there will be scoundrels aplenty to grab as much coin as possible. The only thing that I have seen that shut down college football was 9/11, and that interruption lasted for a single week. Blame the NCAA, blame the ADs, blame the players, blame the coaches, or blame the NFL. How come the fans don’t take some blame themselves? We are the ones financing this fiasco, and we show no incination to send college football the message that the current state of affairs will no longer supported.
northern neighbor
August 29th, 2011
5:14 pm
Oh, I forgot, tax the coaches, too.
And then the reality is....
August 29th, 2011
5:19 pm
Bill and Concerned Parent – two problems with your logic and then two HUGE legal problems:
First who exactly do you think is gonna pony up the money to “pay” all these players. Only one or two big time athletics programs (which are routinely the only ones with these issues) actually turn a profit over expenses and 90% of them are STATE funded universities. You think I’m gonna watch my tax dollars go to paying kids who are already getting $25,000 – $30,000 year on average for a free education and room board and books Get real… if they just need money – be a non-sports playing student and go get a job. If they are gonna play A FRICKIN’ GAME in exchange for a taxpayer funded education then play by the rules.
Two, the reason you don’t have these problems in baseball like you do football is a kid can sign for money and go straight from high school to the minor leagues. In basketball a kid can go straight pro but the market for them is so much smaller most do not. The LeBrons/Kobe’s Dwight Howards are the exception. SO you do get a little in basketball who feel like they should be entitled to “get something” for staying in school. In football you can’t go pro until three years after high school eligibility is up or three full years of college football (hence why so many “redshirt” sophomores go pro). Football is the issue — courts have ruled the age requirement is a valid eligibility rule. I think it’s bunk – makes no sense. If an 18 year old race car driver wants to get out on a track and risk his life at a young “immature” age they don’t tell them no. In my opinion it’s age discrimination and some court should have the cajones to say so.
Now the Legal issues – first the students already get “paid” or don’t you understand that. They get a free education and equipment, and apparel, and, etc. etc. If you then pay them something on top of that it’s a violation of federal labor laws in other students eyes because many of them work jobs for the university as well and they aren’t getting fringe benefits or an equal pay scale.
BIGGER legal issue — you can’t pay just football players, basketball players, those that “financially support the rest of the athletics programs” because you’ll have a disproporationate number of male athletes then getting much more benefit from the school and every school would get sued for Title IX violations and rightly so.
The only solution — if they wanna go pro let em go pro and throw their bodies out there and use them up. If they want an education they sign agreeing to be bound by the scholarship and follow the damn rules. Period. If a school gets slapped on probation because of something the school had responsibility for you automatically deem all scholarship players eligible for full release and immediate eligibility elsewhere – “innocent pay the price” problem solved. If a school accuses another and it’s proven untrue THE FALSE accuser gets the penalty and suffers the consequences.
There is an actual sensible, realistic, preserve the integrity of the amateur nature of college athletics resolution that would work in 98% of the cases…. the NCAA is just too proud to admit it and doesn’t want to lose the best football players to the NFL 3 years earlier.
Boss
August 29th, 2011
5:35 pm
The guy who lied and cheated and had his lieing cheating teams title stripped from him thinks players should be punished when they take unallowed benefits?
I guess cpj aka cheater mcliealot does have a few scruples. Of course that’s only because he doesn’t have any players that anyone would offer benefits to so it was easy for him to make that call.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 29th, 2011
5:41 pm
Pay. The. Players.
BiggdawgK
August 29th, 2011
5:44 pm
I am tired of all the people who whine about the players getting nothing for playing college football. I’ll even ignore the fact they get a free college eduacation that cost other students a lot of cash.
Where else could these kids get free access to coaches, trainers, equipment, facilities, nutritionists, etc… that allow them to reach their full potential so they can go on to the nfl?
Get a clue folks
August 29th, 2011
5:47 pm
The NCAA has no power to go after players after they leave – they don’t even have subpoena powers. They are a self serving toothless tiger. The entire system needs to be blown up and started anew.
KINGDAWG
August 29th, 2011
5:47 pm
I’ll repeat my statement from a previous related article. Do what hurts each party the most…players immediate loss of eligibility; coaches banned for life; and hit the universities with multi-million dollar fine. There’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is KINGDAWG.
Hairy Dawgs
August 29th, 2011
5:51 pm
Perhaps the NFL should start a system where all College players are actually compensated by the NFL owners thus stopping the incentive for payouts by agents and boosters. The NFL admits the college game is a stepping stone to their league and thus has a hand in compensating these players. the pay would be equal among the college ranks regardless of which school they attend.
Casual Observer
August 29th, 2011
5:52 pm
Devils advocate here; Can anyone tell me how many schools are actually on probation currently for NCAA rules violations? I understand that it seems to be a broken system but in reality i would argue that less than 5% of institutions are in trouble. Sure the troublemakers make the loudest noise but are we to blow up a system that technically doesn’t have a problem.
my research may be flawed but I count 7 out of 120 FBS institutions currently on probation.
Kingdawg is naive dawg
August 29th, 2011
5:54 pm
What you propose sounds great – but it’s against the law. You need to go here and read
http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/enforcement/index.html
Ted Hendricks' Ghost
August 29th, 2011
5:55 pm
Key here is that all of this is “alleged” …. nothing has been proven yet folks like Paul Johnson and his holier than thou attitude have become Judge, Jury and Executioner! There are going to be some very surprised folks when the NCAA rules on the 8 players Suspended by Miami. The lil’ Hustler Nevin Shapiro made a lot of claims and the boys from Yahoo! Sports did some very sloppy investigative reporting. The FACTS supporting the claims are very very weak!
The quote of the FBI agent in-charge of the case against Mr. Shapiro; Michael B. Ward, the special agent in charge of the Newark FBI operation that nailed Shapiro for his $930 million ponzi scheme, recognized the same Shapiro tendencies in the UM scandal. Emphasizing that that he was not stating the FBI’s official position, Ward said that a “reasonable person,” familiar with Shapiro, “could even see the university as a victim here.” And, to further quote the article and the judge in this case; The judge, refusing to depart downward from a 20-year sentence, noted “While you certainly have pled guilty, it appears to be this desire to, I don’t know, perhaps blame others, soil others, the reputation of others….”
The guy is a hustler and he has hustled Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated, many media sports “talking heads” and a lot of football coaches, including Paul Johnson. He led all of the folks down the pathway they wanted to travel … one that causes havoc to a very proud football program at the University of Miami! Why? Because he wants to write a book to help offset the $83 million the court has ruled he must repay as restitution to his hustled investors. Anyone know a better way to do it? He has gotten a ton of free advertising from all of the “sheep” that willfully followed the poorly investigative Yahoo! Sports so called reporting!
They get a free education = BS NCAA rhetoric
August 29th, 2011
6:00 pm
Some of you folks don’t get it. Do you realize a kid on a music scholarship can, without penalty, sell songs or sing in a band for pay. How about a journalism major writing / selling his stuff for some spending money? The NCAA is screwing these kids and making BILLIONS under the guise of helping them – total BS.
KINGDAWG
August 29th, 2011
6:02 pm
@Kingdawg is a naive dawg. One thing that you might not have taken into account is that participation in college athletics is a privilege not a right. Players, coaches and schools must meet criteria established by the NCAA.
Hughes Threlkeld, Vidalia, GA
August 29th, 2011
6:13 pm
Yes, & the ideal way is the IRS! Not reporting income over the basic level of ?/qtr or year; I don’t remember.
They will be tagged & watched as crooks for the rest of their lives.
Good article.
Thankx
GT71
August 29th, 2011
6:27 pm
Since this is about money – something you can count, hold, spend – why not just admit that college athletes are actually minor-league players ‘hoping’ to get to the ’show’. You can’t enforce laws about morals anyway (see Prohibition, the underground drug biz and prostitution).
Pay them! But not much – a stipend – during playing days and a big payoff later…
Install a profit-sharing plan – a college athletic 401k-type deal. Apportion a percentage of college’s lucrative money intake to the athletes’ accounts (and yes, make it a meritocracy with the ’stars’ getting a heftier share, but all get a share – Milo Minderbinder would love it!). And pay them upon GRADUATION – yep, that’d help keep them in school and at least being exposed to an education. Like an IRA you get when you ‘retire’ – as most will as most do NOT get the gazillions we read about. No graduate, no big pay.
Still working out the details, but it could work.
BigDawg
August 29th, 2011
6:27 pm
Seems to be some ignorant brethren under this thread. I believe the GT coach was referring to NCAA legislation not Congress. LOL Sure are some lower IQ types on here. I am all for it but how would you get the NFL to play along. Solve that issue and I’m on board. Would serve as a great incentive if the NFL would agree to NCAA rulings. Imagine a case where Reggie Bush had to forfeit his signing bonus and not play for several years as a result of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he received while at USC. This alone would go along way toward cleaning up the college game. Of course Auburn QB would have been treated differently if this was already on the books.
Old Gold and White Fan
August 29th, 2011
6:27 pm
Lots of great ideas listed here. Lots more folks missed the point….which was: do you agree with CPJ or not. Question was NOT: how to enforce or implement or anything else. But, many suggestions here that seemed good for that question too. I DO agree w/ CPJ. Players that broke the rules ought to pay the price and NOT the players left in the system. Don’t care if they’re in the NBA/NFL or not, THEY should be the ones to pay. As for the Dog fan wanting to know where he can find a job paying $20 an hour…..first he might have to learn the difference between “would” and “wood”. Typical UGA fan/grad. I’m just sayin’…….
))
And then the reality is....
August 29th, 2011
6:28 pm
They get a free education = BS NCAA rhetoric …. except for one critical distinction there – that student, outside of their participation in journalism/music classes is selling their own intellectual property/creation, created on their own time, that is completely independent of the participation that is required to qualify for or participate in the school activity. A football player is perfectly allowed to go do the same thing with whatever work, creation, invention, etc. that they choose and it violates nothing. Until you stop trying to convince players they should be treated differently than everybody else just because they are good at a game you ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM… not the solution.
GT71
August 29th, 2011
6:28 pm
OK, the meds are starting to kick in…sorry for the post.
earthworx
August 29th, 2011
6:31 pm
Why shouldn’t college athletes be allowed to sell possessions such as jerseys as long as they own them? I was fortunate to attend college on a scholastic scholarship that paid for my tuition, books, lab fees, and paid a modest monthly stipend. At the end of the semester I was allowed to sell the textbooks I used and keep the money, even though I didn’t directly pay for them, without any worry of penalty. The NCAA operates an archaic system that in no way reflects the economic realities of today. The NCAA needs to realize this and change their policies.
mtraininjax
August 29th, 2011
6:35 pm
CPJ,
JUST WIN, GET OFF the soapbox and play the game. When you win a BCS game you can waste the AJC beat writer’s time.
Go Jackets!!!
davidinloganville
August 29th, 2011
6:40 pm
the goal of the NCAA is not to punish the kids that were not guilty of anything, their goal is to punish the school and their fans for running rouge programs, That is really the only thing legally they can do.
BIG BEE
August 29th, 2011
6:54 pm
wxwax, WRONG, Rad was told not to discuss with CPJ, Rad did not tell Johnson not to talk with the players. wawax, get your facts straight before you spout off.
Anon
August 29th, 2011
6:54 pm
It is ridiculous to suggest that the NFL should be the enforcement arm of the NCAA, because one is a professional league for players who wish to play a sport for a living, the other is suppose to oversee an amateur league of college players who are playing for fun while getting an education. (If the above isn’t true, then stop treating college football as an amateur sport.) If you want the NFL and NCAA football to be intertwine, then officially call it the minor league of the NFL and stop treating the players as amateur athletes, and until that day comes, then the NFL should not be intertwine with the NCAA at all.
Hillbilly D
August 29th, 2011
7:01 pm
Everybody is making a killing off Division 1 football except the players. Drop the student athlete charade (when do these guys have time to go to class anyway, what with spring practice, summer camp, the season, etc) and pay the players. Let the NFL fund its own minor league system, like baseball does.
GIVE ME A BREAK
August 29th, 2011
7:32 pm
A student athlete should have to refund all expenses for their scholarship and lose all grades. A coach is under a contract and should prosecuted.
James
August 29th, 2011
7:32 pm
Strange that coach Johnson didnt mention punishment for coaches who cheat and are or look the other way when player’s palms are being greased.I think the punishment the NFL dished out to Terrelle Pryor will eventually be challenged and overturned in court.I’m not really sure what the answer is here.
@ And then reality
August 29th, 2011
7:35 pm
Sorry but you are wrong. Football players cannot hold jobs or sell stuff like a regular student or any other student on non athlethic scholarship. http://www.allbuffs.com/content.php/362-Scholarships-Stipends-and-Part-Time-Jobs-for-Student-Athletes
wxwax
August 29th, 2011
8:03 pm
There’s a simple solution to the problem.
Just do what the Olympics do. Like college football, the Olympics score hundreds of millions in television money. Like college football, the Olympics don’t pay their athletes.
But unlike college football, the Olympics allow their athletes to earn outside income.
Just remove the rule making outside income illegal, and look how many problems vanish. Nobody is hurt. The top athletes would earn an income commensurate with their importance and public appeal. It would all be clean and above board.
Half the problems plaguing college football removed in an instant. All that would remain are recruiting scandals.
bill
August 29th, 2011
8:10 pm
Hey And then the reality is….
I understand it and saw it first hand, as have many others. How about you?
Also, all I offered were a couple of suggestions, not a complete fix. It’s a complex problem, for sure.
Your quote “preserve the integrity of the amateur nature of college athletics” made me fall out of my chair, laughing! Good Lord, You really do need to open your eyes! This isn’t 1940!
Here’s the reality:
Between Bowl games, TV contracts, merchandising sales and wealthy alums,(among other items) everyone, especially the schools, are making an absolute killing EXCEPT for the actual players, who get paltry monthly stipends.
I’ve been in situations after games (I’m a former player) where a teammate couldn’t even take a date to a Pizza Hut because a large portion of their montly stipends went home to help with bills there.
No one’s fault, I know, but this athlete is sacrificing FOR THE SCHOOL and is barely getting laundry money.
A chance at “free” education is not enough for a lot of these players that are already busted up in their early 20’s, with barely marketable skills because they have been “passed through” in school because of their ability to stay eligible. To think that it is is to be 100% naive.
All I’m saying is, for the 98% that will NEVER sniff any kind of professional contract, who would it hurt to at least give these guys a rightful wage for services rendered?
Of course, there are a lot of “fans” who hate the NFL, but LOVE College Football because the game is purer! Nope, they just don’t like to see the players actually getting paid.
will
August 29th, 2011
8:14 pm
Dumb idea – the NCAA has made up some rules these rules are not laws of the US so why should taxpayers concern themselves with this? And forgive me if I missed it but the NCAA is not a minor league for the NFL (at least not on paper – we all know it really is). I would think that there could be a case made that any actions meted out by the NFL in relation to NCAA infractions would likely be litigated by the involved players and probably won by them. Anyone ever hear of Curt Flood and what he did for baseball – the NCAA needs a Curt Flood
.
Delbert D.
August 29th, 2011
8:15 pm
I got confused somewhere between “stippen” and “amature” in reading these posts.
Delbert D.
August 29th, 2011
8:21 pm
Drop the pretenses, Part 1: Require all schools to offer a Physical Education degree with no math, no English and no history requirements. Only classes that make you sweat, breathe hard and feel pain are required.
z
August 29th, 2011
9:07 pm
Really, Paul? You want to write you own Constitution and legal system? Figures, as sports in today’s society bears no resemblance to reality.
supsalemgr
August 29th, 2011
9:12 pm
We are talking about violation of NCAA rules and not laws. While I feel the players should be held accountable there are no laws now that address the issue. So we have circled back around to the schools. The coaches and the schools must be more diligent in their review of “active” supporters. Then lay down the law to players who are found to associate with these “scumbags” who seek vicarious pleasure through their access.
Charles Lindsley
August 29th, 2011
9:19 pm
Enter your comments here
dawgfan
August 29th, 2011
9:28 pm
The NFL has BIGGER FISH TO FRY than college cheaters.
Thanks. I’ll be here all week.
Charles Lindsley
August 29th, 2011
9:29 pm
Here is an idea: When these kids sign a letter of intent out of high school, also make them sign a contract stating that they will abide by the rules. The contract covers their years of eligibility. If later they’ve been found to have broken the rules while in college, they owe a fine to the college and the NCAA money depending on the severity of the infraction.
Also I think these student athletes do need some kind of stipend. The schools are making a ton of money from them. Make it a gradual allotment: $75 /month /freshmen and/or redshirt year; $100/month/sophomore year; $150/month/junior year and $200/month/senior year.
hind tit
August 29th, 2011
9:42 pm
Have it in writing when a player signs a letter of intent if a school gets punished for a player receiving gifts or money they will be held acountable for what the said school loses due to their stupidity. Also hand them a list, and make them sign it, what they can and cannot except. It time these people are punished instead of the school that don’t even know what’s going on. It’s time for other coaches to get on board with PJ.
kevdawg101
August 29th, 2011
9:50 pm
CPJ is right on!
Don't Care
August 29th, 2011
10:08 pm
@Charles,
Uh, these kids young men get a fully paid scholarship, tutors, room and board. I was on scholarship and it only paid for my matriculation and nothing more ( I had to work two jobs and had student loans). Please spare me the whole “millions of dollars” so atheletes should be paid BS.
They are STUDENT atheletes – if they don’t like it, get a job at McDonalds and wait about 3 years – then see how likely they are to sign those big contracts in the NFL.
sports
August 29th, 2011
11:10 pm
talk about a hypocrite…with what those yellow blowflys were trying to get away with, and now their on probation…AGAIN!
Winks
August 29th, 2011
11:28 pm
Enforceable? What’s to stop a program from suing a former player for causing the program harm? Civil suit. Who enforces that? Don’t need law enforcement to sue. If the player is still in school, it’s easy; suspend him or boot him outta school.
Nate ArchiBALL
August 30th, 2011
12:41 am
Aren’t NCAA athletic scholarships for one year only renewable each year by the school? If you don’t pan out athletically that scholarship is taken away. What are the rules on players having employment while on an athletic scholarship? Athletic dorms, athletic cafeterias……. Comparing student athletes to regular students is like comparing apples to oranges.
Tuesday morning buffet | Get The Picture
August 30th, 2011
6:58 am
[...] Paul Johnson thinks there ought to be a law that punishes college athletes for taking improper benefits, even after they’ve left college. (In related news, Paul Johnson is an asshat.) [...]
fine
August 30th, 2011
7:32 am
maybe if paul learned how to go for a fg or punt, tech could win more
Hal
August 30th, 2011
7:49 am
If they are not enrolled at the school the NCAA should not persue it. It’s a waste of time plus it’s not fair to the current players. In short they got away with it this time but we are watching you closely should be the result.(probation) That does not go for the the coaches who knew . The penalty should follow then to their next job.
tiger7_88
August 30th, 2011
8:24 am
How about we let punishments follow coaches around? So when Mr. Self Righteous Paul Johnson takes a new job, the penalties that Ga Tech is currently under follow him to his new school.
Wouldn’t that be fair, Paul Johnson?
Jazzyga
August 30th, 2011
8:51 am
I agree they should be made to pay their scholarship back with penalities. At the end of the day the players new to the program and coming to play for the colleges are the ones who suffer, not the player that took the money, cars and jewelry. Something needs to change; have them sign a NCAA contract stipulating the penalities if proven that they took gifts during college.
Denise
August 30th, 2011
9:25 am
I think the players who violated and who are now reaping big rewards in he NFL should repay their scholarship money to the University
JR
August 30th, 2011
9:52 am
why didn’t you put the ga boise game in the contest? instead you put these games with 30-40 point spreads against crap opponents like ok tulsa and chattanooga nebraska. and why not byu at ole miss and northwestern bs??? whoever picked the games for week 1 sucks
dawg tired
August 30th, 2011
9:59 am
Coach,
If your AD knew how to follow NCAA directions, you would still have an ACC title.
CWG
August 30th, 2011
10:07 am
It’s actually pretty simple. You put a stipulation in their LOI / scholarship that generally states that “If the student athelte is found to have received improper benefits and the finding results in loss of revenue by the school the athlete can be held responsible for financial losses of the school.”
So, USC could now go and get 10’s of millions from Reggie Bush b/c they are ineligible for bowl games and post season play costing that school millions. Bush could care less, he got his in college and is now getting it in the league. Had him and his family known that accepting a few hundred grand could cost them 10’s of millions they may have thought twice and lived in poverty for another 2-3 years.
superDawg
August 30th, 2011
10:18 am
gt is guilty of NCAA violations concerning academically ineligable athletes,hindering NCAA investigations and just down right cheating.I say heavy fines and whining are in order here.
Contractor
August 30th, 2011
10:19 am
I’m a Georgia fan, but I absolutely love the way Paul Johnson is. He is hard nosed, and a man that lives his life the right way. You don’t get the opportunity to coach at Navy if you don’t live by a higher standard and great character.
You legislate this by fining a player $100,000-$500,000 if they are subsequently found guilty on infractions and are playing in the NFL. Coach is exactly right that these guys skurt by on the punishment by going pro and not facing any punishment, while young 18 year old recruits pay the price. These guys could care less what is said about them, cause they are still signing endorsements and HUGE checks. Their egos are so big by that time anywhere that they’ll go out and spend $50,000 at the bar and laugh it off, spitting back in the face of the NCAA. You think Reggie Bush is all broken up about what happened to USC because of him, or if Terrel Pryor cares what’s going on at Ohio State? NO, they are sitting on the sideline learning new play books and signing on the dotted line making millions.
superDawg
August 30th, 2011
10:20 am
If you get caught make up excuses,that is the gt way.
macrotech
August 30th, 2011
10:32 am
And superDung has yelped…academically ineligible athletes? We haven’t played a game, yet. HOW is this possible?! OH! That’s right…I guess it could be put in the same category that the ncaa used against Tech when they got their feelings hurt. No student/athletes were found to be in the wrong, but…punish the institution anyway! As for cheating…care to clarify?
macrotech
August 30th, 2011
10:33 am
Contractor, you’re a Damn Good Dawg
HARRY from CANTON,OH.
August 30th, 2011
10:58 am
I think all who receive an ‘Athletic’ Scholarship Grant’ should be required to sign a legal and binding statement that if they disobey or break NCAA rules which results in a penalty to the player,team or school, and / or removal from the team, they be required to ‘pay back’ any and all scholarship monies and benefits received regardless of time frame involved.
macrotech
August 30th, 2011
10:59 am
Harry, I concur!
Dr. Phil
August 30th, 2011
11:10 am
If universities raised their admission standards for scholarship athletes to the admission level for regular students, these infractions would decline. Most of the players taking bribes have their eyes on the NFL and have no interest in the educational opportunity offered them. Banning coaches who cheat would help too.
Belcher
August 30th, 2011
11:20 am
CUT THE CRAP!! IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Johnson on Sims, Perkins and his first job | Georgia Tech
August 30th, 2011
11:23 am
[...] Here’s the link to the notebook, which has all the lineup changes and a few other notes. You also should read Jeff Schultz’s post about what Johnson said about how he would stop the rash of NCAA rules violations. [...]
dekalb fan
August 30th, 2011
11:25 am
The NCAA tries to legislate to much. Some situations they should leave alone. Let’s say that I am a business owner that also voluntarily coaches High School Football. A player I coach receives a scholarship, if I decide to help that kid out it is a violation. That is ridicolous because I have known the kid since High School and have a prior relationship with him. If I become a season ticket holder so I can watch the kid play his home college games, I then become a Booster and he can’t communicate with me. That is absurd. NCAA let the kids play and authorize a stipend. As long as there are fans, the athletes are going to benefit.
Dirty Dawg
August 30th, 2011
11:39 am
I don’t know if ‘radlydawg’ is one of us or not, but he’s absolutely right about Coach Johnson and that ‘jarvis’ guy. There has to be consequences (to borrow a term from Allen Harper, ‘Dire consequences.’) for bad behavior…and whoever said anything about involving Congress – at least I didn’t see that and don’t believe it’s necessary.
What about clauses in their athletic scholarship agreements? Something to the effect that if you ‘transgress’ in certain areas you pay the price, and that includes accepting illegal ‘gifts’…and that it should include a ’statute of limitations’ of say seven years so that if something comes to light later, they still are on the hook.
Another thing I’ve felt is needed…that when student athletes are dismissed from a member NCAA, or at the least a Conference, institution for cause – say like theft, or cheating, or sexual assault, or something – that said miscreant ‘not’ be allowed to enroll in another member institution for, at a minimum, two years. This business of being a sorry, no-account, lout and gettin’ kicked to the curb for crappy behavior…then being able to ‘play around’ for a quarter or two at some JC then get recruited, and maybe paid, to enroll someplace just as big and high-profile (and maybe even win a NC or a Heisman), is no punishment at all. In fact, it’s an easy way out for some and it should be discouraged…in the extreme – and that means you too Mettenberger.
D.J. Mase
August 30th, 2011
2:30 pm
Hard for the staff to watch 80 guys…Time is occupied a lot during the season, but they can’t keep up with everybody…If ur not on first or second string, they may not know u exist….. I didn’t really know my college coach til 2 qb’s went down in the same game….. When the oc called my name to go in as a true freshmen, . coach could only call me ” hey son”.
A person
August 30th, 2011
4:07 pm
The NCAA rightfully has no enforcement power (outside of altering records from when they were in college) once the athlete leaves the college. You can argue that the school lost money on this, but that’s between the school and the player, and the school can bring a suit for lost revenue, but the NCAA doesn’t lose money here. The NCAA has no legal power over someone not at a university, they only regulate amateur sports by college players. The NFL has no business regulating what their professional players have done in the past, they are people playing football to make a living under the NFL rules for professional players, not amateur players playing just for the fun of it while they work for their college degree.
You can argue that it’s not fair to punish incoming freshmen for the actions of those who have left, but nothing is making the NCAA do that, they are choosing to. They regulate college amateur sports, not people who make a living with their trade. You can also argue that it seems like they are getting a free pass if they leave and join the NFL, but guess what, if I get kicked out of college as a computer science major, and Microsoft decides to hire me, that is between me and my new employer, my school can’t block the hiring saying “but he didn’t pass our requirements.” Sure it would be harder for me to get hired, but if by chance I do, then there is nothing wrong with that. Similarly, if the NFL (an employer), wants to hire a student that their college didn’t want, more power to them, why should a college, or college association, have any say in that?
LATRELL
August 30th, 2011
4:50 pm
if this shapiro guy was handing out weekly pay checks to these players i could understand the uproar but being invited to a party, and how much money are we talking? does any of these natural born haters really know? if there were prostitutes they should be in jail too..i don’t hear this uproar against the LSU players that were in ARRESTED and CHARGED!!!..It’s all about the U
ptjackets
August 30th, 2011
5:30 pm
Why can’t the school sue in civil court for damages? I mean If a kid hurt a school and the school knew nothing about it why can’t the school sue the kid after they get in the NFL? Now of course it won’t work if the school was on the take as well. Just a thought!
superDawg
August 30th, 2011
5:40 pm
macriod does 17 ring a bell with your beehind.It was not an oversight on behalf of your tek staff it was down right hide and seek.
geb4l1fe
August 30th, 2011
5:57 pm
First, they need to go after coaches and administrators retroactively. There are coaches and administrators involved in many of these cases that have moved on and are serving in a similar capacity elsewhere. Key difference is that they still fall under the “jurisdiction” of the NCAA unlike former student athletes who no longer have any dealings with the NCAA. Reaching out and punishing NFL players would just perpetuate the myth that NCAA is just a free minor league for the NFL. On that note, what punishment is levied on the former student athlete that is now a manager at Office Max? Or do we just want to punish those who are doing better than we are? Also, I do not think that increased stipends or any other kind of increased compensation will solve this issue. The prevailing issue is not under-privileged kids trying to make ends meet. Many of these guys are just trying to get what may or may not be coming to them early.
TJ
August 30th, 2011
7:20 pm
I’m all for having athletes agree to pay back their scholarships if they accept extra benefits. This is a contract between them and the school. Simple accountability. At least they know what they will owe should they be caught.
Dawg fan backs Tech
August 30th, 2011
7:32 pm
Amen coach. I bleed red and black but your position is the gospel brother!
MAC. TECH FAN
August 30th, 2011
7:54 pm
Have all athletes sign a sworn statement with consequencies of violatios.
FullMetalJacket
August 30th, 2011
7:58 pm
Coach Johnson is right on track. And paying players isn’t the answer. Pryor and company weren’t taking hamburger money or movie tickets or even free formula for their babymomma’s kids, they are buying tattoos, driving sports cars, wearing $1000 suits and bling, and generally acting like the spoiled “soon to be rich” kids that they are. Punish the perpetrators, which includes the source of the money and the recipients. And either get the NFL on board or refuse the NFL any access or connection to the NCAA (neither will happen.)
FullMetalJacket
August 30th, 2011
8:03 pm
And it is completely ludicrous that the college “exploits” the players. They get scholarships, which are worth as much education as the player is willing to get, and just like the regular kids on scholarships, they have to maintain certain standards to keep those scholarships. Also, as any academic knows, if a kid on scholarship (or especially grad students on fellowships) discover a new process or create a profitable product during the course of their scholarship, then THE SCHOOL gets all the proceeds for that! Just like when a player or team make the school big bucks for playing a game well.
FullMetalJacket
August 30th, 2011
8:06 pm
True, some of the athletes make the schools money, but most do not. Any athlete who takes illegal money or benefits (according to their scholarship and the NCAA regs) needs to be individually and directly punished proportionately. Expulsion from school would be a good start for any violation over $1000 bucks or so, along with repayment in full of all scholarship money and an appropriate suspension from NFL eligibility.
FullMetalJacket
August 30th, 2011
8:09 pm
The punishment for AJ Green and Bebe Thomas, and as a result the punishment on their teammates and schools, was so far out of line with what Pryor & Newton (yes, I know it’s only “alleged” but really) will be getting. I’m all for throwing the book at minor violations, like AJ’s and Bebe’s, if the NCAA is going to be consistent and throw the whole law library at Pryor & Newton.
FullMetalJacket
August 30th, 2011
8:11 pm
Who didn’t know that Miami was crooked as a dog’s hind leg? It seems like only the NCAA. The Death Penalty will never be given again, but it is too good for Thug U.
MAC. TECH FAN
August 30th, 2011
8:26 pm
Enter your comments here
A
August 30th, 2011
9:56 pm
I understand why the schools should be prevented from paying the athletes, but why should the athletes not be able to make money themselves. Anyone else on campus who is not an athlete (even if they have a full scholarship) is perfectly allowed to make money. Don’t say they can get a job, as their athletics prevent them from working even a part time job with the amount of effort that is needed. Even the Olympics, which doesn’t pay athletes, allow them to make money.
South DeKalb Miami Hurricane Alum
August 31st, 2011
2:06 am
This is just all talk are you guys really ready to bring the hammer down? If so then lets start here in our own state. High school players who are recruited out of their districts to play for another county their address changed etc. I suppose no one in Cobb, DeKalb, Bartow, Gwinnett even know what I am talking about?
For Real
September 1st, 2011
12:37 pm
I wonder if PJ feels the samething about college coaches, GMs and presidents?
Wodawg
September 2nd, 2011
7:15 am
Coach Johnson, it’s all about money. It’s money at the university, money at the tv network; money in the coach’s pocket and money in the locker room. If you want to take money out of it, you gotta start at the top. Either pay the players or return to amateur sports and have only student-athletes not semi-pro players at the college level. Congratulations on your victory Thursday.