I didn't go back and read my last post on this topic so forgive me if I'm a little redundant. But I'm completely sick of hearing people call Pryor "the man who ruined Ohio State." That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Pryor made some bad decisions, yes. But he didn't do anything that every struggling, 19 year-old college student wouldn't have done. If I told you that you could have a brand new sports car for free when you were 19 years old, you'd ask me where to sign. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The people to blame in these situations are the compliance officers, the coaching staff and, most importantly, the scumbag boosters. At this point we're just waiting to hear who the next school, player or coach is that will be under investigation. Trust me, everyone is guilty. Every single Division 1 athletic program in the country is doing something they're not supposed to. The Pryor case is definitely an extreme, but it's not a matter of who's violating NCAA rules, but rather a matter of who's going to get caught. Not all violations are as serious as the ones at Ohio State, USC, Miami and many other big name universities, but plenty of smaller schools could face heat too. There are countless schools committing what the NCAA would consider to be petty violations such as going over the allotted practice hours in a week, supplying academic "assistance" that would be frowned upon, or covering up misdemeanor offenses. In those instances, it would be mostly the coaching staff and compliance officers that would be punished, but guilty is guilty.
Now I've heard several suggestions of ways to fix the problem of athletes receiving illegal benefits. Most notably, make it a felony for any booster to supply illegal benefits or don't allow any athlete to play professionally if he/she was proven to have taken illegal benefits while in college. As far as the first recommendation goes, I'm not necessarily opposed to it. However I think that's a little optimistic. I'd be a supporter of imprisoning every sleazeball that puts a naive college athlete in a position to ruin their career, but it's just not realistic. Misdemeanor? Sure. But a felony? Like, the same level of criminal offense as armed robbery, homicide, rape, and other heinous crimes? I don't think so. As for suggestion number two, that just simply wouldn't solve the problem. Yes, it would deter athletes at the highest level from taking gifts from boosters, but it doesn't account for the athletes that either know they're not good enough to play professionally or don't want to play professionally. Those particular athletes would have no problem pocketing some extra cash.
So after thinking long and hard *pause* about it, after analyzing all aspects of the issue, I've finally come up with a solution: Pay college athletes. OK, maybe I wasn't the first person to submit the idea, but I'm now a supporter of it. I had never really decided on which side of the fence I fell when it came to the idea of paying college athletes, but now it's become clear. It's simply the only way and the best way to assure that they won't be tempted to accept bribes from outsiders. It would also level the playing field when it comes to recruiting. Programs and coaches would actually have to sell their universities (figuratively, not literally) to recruits based on the school itself, the football tradition and academics instead of showing them the private yachts and strip clubs they'll get to attend if they play well. What a concept. Oh, by the way, Terrelle Pryor will be a good NFL player. Better than Cam Newton. You heard it here first.
Instead of a quote to end this post, I'm going to give you all a very special treat. The following is the video that myself and a few friends made in our 11th grade spanish class. And after you watch it I don't think you'll have a hard time figuring out why we aced it. Too easy. Enjoy.
-Brusk Dollas
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