Big Pimpin'
Posted May 14, 2008 at 9:57 am by Damon Agnos
You don't understand, OJ: people are paying to see me.
To the surprise of only those who believe in Santa Claus, ESPN is reporting that surefire NBA lottery pick O.J. Mayo received gifts—including hotel rooms, clothes, and a flat screen TV—from representatives of sports agents while he was at USC. Today, we get NCAA president Myles Brand's reaction:
"This is not acceptable behavior and on occasion, it's illegal. You get thrown in jail if you rob a bank, but people keep robbing banks. The fact of the matter is these kinds of activities are unacceptable, they are unfortunate. We expect the schools to enforce the rules and protect our student-athletes."
Brand added that he'd like to see the NBA set up a rule whereby players are required to stay in college "two, three, or four years."
While I can't find the original article, it appears that, as of 2006, the NCAA was paying Myles Brand $895,000 a year. (Similarly, USC head coach Tim Floyd has a base salary of $850,000.) That same year, Brand delivered a speech defending the NCAA's pursuit of increased revenues and dismissing complaints that the association's commercialism was inappropriate. "Nonsense," he said. "
Topics: College Hoop
Comments
what's worse is this bastard earns more per year than all but one public university president. fuck priorities and praise entertainment...blow me.
Posted May 14, 2008 at 10:46 am by mantisI think if the NCAA and NBA want to require players to punch the college clock before turning pro, then they should compensate them somehow. Either that or turn a blind eye to this sort of chicanery. But for the vast majority of college athletes, a college scholarship is more than enough payment for them to contribute their talents on the field or on the court.
Posted May 14, 2008 at 10:49 am by Seely