I realize that this is a finance forum but, as has become my custom, I usually like to write about sports. To that end, if someone can explain to me how you suspend Terrelle Pryor for the first FIVE games of next season (knowing he could easily declare for the draft, thus negating the punishment entirely) but not suspend him for the actual bowl game that's just a few days away. I would say, call me crazy, that the only reason would be the loss of revenue for the bowl game organizers and the NCAA. I'm sure congress will form a committee a la the baseball steroids committee to investigate this. I think we've all discussed, and agreed that college athletes, are compensated just fine by way of their full scholarships, meal plans, etc.
Between events like this and the way the BCS stuff shakes out every year, I'm surprised we haven't seen any collusion lawsuits or the like. Any of you monkey's wanna chime in and explain to me how this isn't an obvious money grab on the part of the NCAA? I'd love to hear it.
I'd say 5 games is extreme any way. And you're telling me Cam Newton doesn't even get a slap on the wrist?
Not a slap...he gets a trophy
The difference between Newton's issue and the Buckeye's Suspended 5 is that it was proved that Newton actually was invovled in anything illegal, and that it was his parents that were trying to get the benefits despite being unsuccessful at it. Newton also had an investigation pending during the season that hung over the voting body's head about whether they could vote for him or not. This is an offseason violation that may be a bit more provable, and therefore, easier to punish.
Do I think 5 games is extreme? Well, hate towards the Buckeyes aside, I do think it's a bit absurd to suspend them for 5 games, particularly when you consider that none of those games will be a division game and one of those games is being played against a potentially ranked Miami team. OSU gets off easy in that respect, since they don't play any division games until mid-season. The loss of these 5 may hurt their ranking, but they won't hurt their chances to win their division. Consider that one and then look at the discussion of whether the punishment is fair that they have to sit out the first five games. So they can't win a national championship, but they can still sure as all hell take their place representing the Big Ten in the Big-5 Bowls.
Just sayin is all...
It just blows my mind that he could even get in trouble for selling things that are totally and completely his. He owns them. Just because he got them by playing football doesn't mean he can't sell them or is my understanding of the word 'ownership' not correct. Seems a bit ridiculous.
Apparently they need to totally educate ALL student athletes on what they OWN and what they use from the university. If I had won a Big Ten Championship ring like Pryor, I would think it was mine as well. After all, they may have not even won the game without Pryor, so I'd say it's rightfully his, he earned it. Now the school is going to tell him what he can and can't do with it? Give me a break.
This is one of the few cases where ownership is not the right way to describe things. While the 5 guys that were suspended did own what they sold, there are seperate laws governing the items they sold as it was stuff related to championships won/earned by the team versus their own non-NCAA Sanctioned property.
Wonderful how universities rake in the cash on these kids, but god forbid they try and make a dime. We all know football and basketball players are getting college degrees that will help them in life.
This is absolutely absurd. BCS is a complete shamble, the Outback Bowl? wtf, honestly, i dont get excited at all for the college football bowl season because its just a major scam in the end.
Echoes my thoughts. Its a seriously inefficient system.
The worst about the whole situation isn't the fact that the players can't sell their things, it's the double standard that exists between schools, players, etc.
AJ Green- stud WR for UGA, suspended for the first 4 games (IIRC) of the 2010 season for selling a game-worn jersey after the investigation over the summer.
Terrelle Pryor and Co- suspended for the first 5 games next season, NOT the next game, which is the upcoming BCS Sugar Bowl against Arkansas.
'The NCAA did not suspend the players for Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl against the Razorbacks because they "did not receive adequate rules education during the time period the violations occurred."' -ESPN This is the biggest load of bullspit I've ever heard. These "student-athletes" go to Ohio State, which has the largest athletic department in the country. I refuse to believe that these kids didn't know the rules with regards to selling their Big Ten Championship rings, jerseys, and other materials. Hell, most of these kids are going league after this season anyways.
This comes after the NCAA ruined the UNC football season by handing out suspensions ranging from a few games to indefinite suspensions. Complete BS.
i went to a school with a huge athletics department and athletes, especially football players, were ABSOLUTELY aware of the fact that they couldn't sell anything they received free from the program. I tried to buy a team-issue winter cap from a member of the soccer team for $10 to give to my brother for Christmas, and he knew he couldn't do that.
I also disagree that schools owe more to their football players than a scholarship and the various allowable benefits (which exist and are significant) because they make money off the programs (many lower-profile schools don't, by the way).
Extreme? This doesn't even qualify as a slap on the wrist. You get to play in your huge bowl game, but we're going to make you sit out 5 games (which will be pointless when they bail to the NFL)...and those games are all against community colleges with the exception of the last one (Michigan state). If a non-AQ school had done this, at this time, you can be damn sure the players wouldn't be allowed to play in the bowl game. NCAA is a giant infected vagina, as usual.
Miami a "community college"? LOL. My how the mighty have fallen. Da U!
I haven't been following this all that closely, but I believe after the Sugar Bowl they mentioned that part of the agreement was that these guys would be required to stay on all of next season as Buckeyes, which I guess makes the punishment a little more severe, although still not much considering they should have all missed the BCS game.
No, that is not what happened. What actually happened was Jim Tressel, the coach of the Buckeyes, made the players that got suspended sign a (non binding, BS) agreement saying they would stay at OSU next year. If they refused to sign the agreement then he would have made them sit out of the bowl game.
....If the NCAA wants to throw stones they should of been suspended for the bowl game.
Now on the reason for the suspension I agree with it from a student/athelete perspective. You must look at it from the booster side of things. Lets say I'm a booster and I ask Pryor how much will it cost for you stay a Buckeye for one more season and he tells me $300K. Before Pryor can blink I fill out the check and pass it to him and tell him this $300k is for your Big-Ten ring (wink, wink). The ring is probably worth $1,500 at the most. Lets be honest the ring belongs to Pryor not Vince Lombardi...it's worthless. I just found a loop hole and paid a player to play a sport. That's what the NCAA is trying to avoid.
Blame the Buckeyes for not passing out warning flyers during the ring ceremony stating you can't sell your stuff.
The NCAA reason for not suspending them for the Sugar Bowl is without a doubt one of the stupidest reasons I've ever heard. If the players broke the rules (which is pretty clear regardless of the merit of the rules) then how are they not suspended effective immediately? This just goes to show what a program of thugs Tressel is running down in Columbus and I hope for nothing but bad things follow Pryor and the rest of those scumbags at THE Tattoo University
He should have given the stuff to his mother to sell and then played dumb like Cam Newton.
Look, their suspension should have been effective 12/31/2010 and that should have resolved this. What Tressell did was give these players the opportunity to showcase themselves before they went into the draft . What Tressell did was low class in my humble opinion, letting them sign a non-binding agreement in order to play. They signed it and can still declare themselves to be draft eligable, and I think they will.
We all know that they would do it given that they lose the ability to play 5 games next season, particularly when they are going to be playing a Miami team could be ranked depending on recruiting, a Michigan State team that will be ranked and Colorado, a clusterfuck team where you don't know whether they will show up to play or not. For the record, U of Miami, Michigan State and and University of Colorado aren't the podunk schools your thinking of. Miami is ACC, MSU is Big Ten and Colorado is Big 12, all part of the AQ-Confrences. That's not podunk community college by a long shot. These three games will be watched with interest and by not playing, the Five lose out on 3 higher profile games to increase their recognition. This Sugar Bowl victory will give them that little bit of umph they need in order to declare and go well in the draft, if that.
Yes, the BCS and NCAA screwed up again. They handled the Ohio State situation wrong. They handled Cam Newton wrong. They have a problem with actually handing out fair punishments to their favored sons, but if there a team like TCU or Boise State, they would have jumped at the opportunity to enforce the punishment on them. The NCAA should have started the manditory suspension before the bowl game and made it 6 games total.
They handled the BCS bowls wrong, but that's my opinion. A one loss Boise team should have been chosen before either Virginia Tech (Who lost to both Boise and an FCS team before going 8-0 in the ACC. While admirable, they lost to a Non-AQ team and an FCS team and that should have been enough to tarnish their record before losing to Stanford anyways) or UConn (At least UConn beat the FCS team they played before winning in a weak conference where the top 3 teams all had the same conference record). Honestly, the selection seemed like it was something you'd see the NFL do... oh wait, the Seahawks are repping the NFC West when there a number of teams with a much better record that should be playing over them. And as for the matter of who is champion, the BCS will have two undefeated teams at the end of the season, yet TCU will be glanced over because it's non-AQ. Where's the justice in truly having a champion if there is still another team that may be just as good, if not better, than they are who is also undefeated.
At the end of the day though, the Five will declare and delcare their intent to go pro so they can play. Why deal with the penalties when they could just move onto the NFL? Just my two cents on the whole issue.
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