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Would Closer Ties To NBPA Help NCAA Hoops With Its Issues?

UK's Calipari said of players being paid, "It's their name and likeness. It's not ours, it's theirs"GETTY IMAGES

Kentucky coach John Calipari said that the NCAA "needs to work closer" with the NBPA to "fix some of the issues in the college game," according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com. Calipari said, "The problem with the NCAA, it's slow-moving. This one doesn't need to be slow-moving." He added of players being paid, "It's their name and likeness. It's not ours, it's theirs. They should be able to make money. Maybe the school manages it, maybe the money goes to their parents for travel. And maybe there's a limit on what they can do, and the rest they get when they leave here. It's all stuff that can be done easily. ... Let them take a loan. Let their family get a loan from the players' association" (ESPN.com, 2/27). In Louisville, Page & Hale note a potential counter to Calipari's idea is that "some players will get loans and others will not" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 2/28). Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said, "If their likeness is being used for profit while they're playing college basketball, some of that should get back to them for sure" (Portland OREGONIAN, 2/28).

HOW CAN THE PRO HELPS? NBPA Exec Dir Michele Roberts said, "I can't change the NCAA's rules, but I can't help but wonder why it is that an industry ... that produces millions, if not billions of dollars, thinks that the culprit is the kid who makes no money, who helps generate the income, who takes something. What disturbs me is the focus on the players, rather than better focus on the system." She added, "All of us, the league and even the PA has a responsibility to not wait and think that we can fix things by the time they come to high school" (USA TODAY, 2/28). LeBron James said, "I don't know if there's any fixing the NCAA. I don't think there is." James: "As the NBA, we have to figure out a way that we can shore up our farm league, and if kids feel like they don't want to be a part of that NCAA program, then we have something here for them to be able to jump back on and not have to worry about going overseas all the time. ... The NCAA is corrupt, we know that. Sorry, it's going to make headlines, but it's corrupt." James added, "We have to shore up our G League, continue to expand our G League" (ESPN.com, 2/27). 

AMATEUR HOUR: Former NBAer Ed O'Bannon in a special to THE PLAYERS' TRIBUNE wrote, "The purity of amateur sports -- out the window." If someone helps make the money, they "should be able to share in the profit" (THEPLAYERSTRIBUNE.com, 2/27). The AP's Ralph Russo writes the "cracked facade" of NCAA basketball "appears to be crumbling" after the open criticism from Calipari and James (AP, 2/28). Nebraska AD Bill Moos yesterday during a radio appearance on the Husker Sports Network said the FBI investigation is going to be "devastating." Moos: "In the next two or three weeks, there are going to be some things revealed that I think are going to be astonishing" (247SPORTS.com, 2/27). Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said of eliminating the one-and-done rule in college basketball, "Think if they were off the table and they knew they were going. You probably eliminate a lot of this stress and pressure" (TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT, 2/28). THE RINGER's Jonathan Tjarks wrote the FBI investigation "barely scratches the surface of the issue." The NCAA "likely won’t even be able to see the ongoing results of the probe in advance." If past behavior is "any indication," the FBI "will pin the blame on bad apples and avoid touching systemic issues" (THERINGER.com, 2/27).

CHANGE THE GAME: YAHOO SPORTS' Pat Forde wrote under the header, "3 Rule Changes That Could Help Save College Basketball." Among the ideas NCAA President Mark Emmert seemed "willing to explore was allowing agent representation of basketball players while in college -- something already in place in baseball and hockey." Another area that could be up for "substantive change" would be "endorsement opportunities and/or name/image/likeness revenue" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/26). In Kentucky, John Clay writes schools "don't have to pay athletes, but let the athletes be paid." Clay: "Let them do commercials. Let them have sponsorships. Let them earn money in the free market economy. ... Let the athletes have agents" (LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER, 2/28). A K.C. STAR editorial stated that the NCAA "needs to be aligned with the NBA ... and open the marketplace." Top talent "should be compensated at market value at the college level." If not, allow high school students as young as 16 to "enter the professional ranks as they do in baseball and other sports" (K.C. STAR, 2/27).

FREE MARKETS: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jason Gay wrote sometime down the road, we are "going to wind up with a compensation system for the two mega-revenue college sports." Maybe it is a "completely free market, which would terrify everyone but the super-booster programs." More likely, it will be a "structured stipend system -- each player gets X -- or an escrow payment that’s due upon graduation." In the shorter term, the NCAA can "eliminate amateurism" by letting athletes "accept sponsor dollars, outside jobs, agents, any side income they can get" (WSJ.com, 2/26). In Louisville, Tim Sullivan wrote allowing the marketplace to function more freely and openly "would eliminate much of the underground economy responsible for so many of the issues that have made college basketball synonymous with scandal" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 2/25). Sullivan also asked, "How do you listen to Emmert and not laugh at his piety and naivete?" The "real problem" is that the NCAA is a system "designed to keep the money out of the hands of high-demand labor" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 2/24). In Sacramento, Ailene Voisin writes we should "let the NCAA clean its own house, with a little help from its friends at the FBI." If the NBA is "proactive and resourceful, it can transform the G League into a viable, appealing alternative for elite players currently shackled by the one-and-done rule that requires them to attend college (or play overseas) for a year before they can enter the league" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 2/28).

SCHOOL TIES: SI.com's Charles Pierce wrote the FBI investigation is a "colossal waste of time and money," but it is also "one of the best things that ever happened to the NCAA and to its status quo, a status quo that remains an affront to common sense and simple justice" (SI.com, 2/26). In Greensboro, Ed Hardin writes when our universities are "willing to equate basketball with education, we’re going in the wrong direction." It is "up to the schools to maintain their honor, not to lower the gates of admission for athletes." Schools "have to make a stand here." Our universities "can’t lower their standards to allow students to enroll who have no business enrolling." Once student-athletes are in, the schools "have to educate them, not just keep them eligible" (Greensboro NEWS & RECORD, 2/28). ESPN's Jay Bilas tweeted, "A real contradiction for the NCAA: they say they believe in education, but endeavor to push the best players away from higher education altogether. Did Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, or Mike Conley suffer due to one year of college? Did Texas, UCLA or Ohio State?" (TWITTER.com, 2/27). ESPN's Jay Williams yesterday tweeted a video telling student-athletes to "not only ... boycott," but also actively advocate for "real change & force the hand of the #NCAA" (TWITTER.com, 2/27).

TOO CLOSE: In Orlando, Mike Bianchi writes college basketball media members "need to take a hard look at how they analyze their sport." Instead of villainizing the rule-makers; how about "blaming the rule-breakers?" Instead of "lambasting the NCAA for some of its obviously archaic rules," why don’t Bilas and Dick Vitale "rip some of their buddies in the coaching profession for blatantly breaking some of the NCAA’s most basic rules?" Bianchi: "Like the one that says, um, YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO BUY PLAYERS!!!" People like Bilas and Vitale have "let their coziness with coaches cloud their judgement" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/28). 

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