I am currently annoyed frustrated shocked w/ this stuff…I was driving home from dropping my sis off at the airport while listening to some radio station discussing the NFL/NCAA rules, Tyrelle Pryor, etc. I wanted to call into the radio show so badly but I couldn’t get the number while I was driving haha
So, here’s the (most recent) issue…Terrelle Pryor, a former Ohio State football player, Pryor was suspended for the first five games of the 2011 NFL regular season for selling memorabilia in exchange for cash and “improper benefits.” The reasoning behind the suspension was that “Pryor had accepted at the end of the 2010 college football season a suspension for the first five games of the 2011 season for violating NCAA rules”, and that he had subsequently “undermined the integrity of the eligibility rules for the NFL Draft” by “failing to cooperate with the NCAA” on their investigation into the OSU football program.
Hellooo..that’s like saying I finished at one job, got hired at another, but my new job is punishing me for something I did at my previous job. Does that make sense?
People are saying they (athletes) break the rules, they should pay the price. Yeah, I think there should be consequences for some stuff and I think these athletes should be more careful, it’s not right to break the contract (not everything you’re offered is gold). But, I also think we should be questioning the rules…why not change the rules? Ethics? Morals? I think Roger Goodell and the NCAA board are the ones we should be looking at. These athletes give their heart and soul to this game. They bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars for their teams and schools. No one ever talks about that. Or, how in addition to their duties on and off the field, these guys do community service and charity work and are students like the rest of their classmates. They have families, they sacrifice vacations and holidays. It’s hard work and hard earned respect that they should get. Why don’t they have the freedom to do what they want with a ring, or a jersey (that they worked for), or accepting a car for transportation? No biggie I don’t think…what if they need that extra help? We all know college student days weren’t the most balling of days, right? A scholarship is good but maybe not enough.
I could go on, but I’m lateee. I should be on the road to Austin to see my baby niece. Road trippin! She’s presh 🙂
Anywayyy, I really want to hear your thoughts, what you feel..am I wrong? Comment away!
Peace and love ❤
-Rinny
Moti Laine 
Pretty much my thoughts on the whole thing, folks getting too caught up in this whole “for love of the game” ish
“…what if they need that extra help…We all know college student days weren’t the most balling of days, right? A scholarship is good but maybe not enough” Well Said! The underlying issue is not about integrity, it’s about race. Anyone halfway paying attention knows that 90% or more of the black male athletes these programs are recruiting are baited with money, commodities, etc. Why, because 90% or more come from financially struggling families. Perfect example, ESPN’s 30 for 30 story on the Fab 5 being stripped of all of there achievements for reasons I disagree with. If anything these boys are preyed upon by money hungry vultures, I mean recruiters who dangle carrots in front of underprivildeged kids and then blame the kids for taking it.
True, good point you bring up. However, I think the underlying issue is integrity but race, social class, etc are other factors to look at. The fault shouldn’t only be on the athletes for sure.