That's exactly my beef. If people want to cry about losing a player because of these sports agents, not being able to cheer for a team that is as strong as it should be, fine whatever. But Nick Saban and really any college head coach or Athletic Director, really have no moral grounds to be publicly bashing the agents. No moral grounds whatsoever.
I must have missed this one somehow...
Collegiate coaches and AD's are bashing the system more than they're standing on their moral high horse and bashing slimeball agents.... Alabama can survive without Marcel Dareus (even though he's the best defensive lineman in college football) and win another championship.... that's not the point..
The point is it's not right for the PROGRAM to suffer the consequences (probation, sanctions, loss of scholarships, etc., etc.) for the actions of an idividual player who has already had it DRILLED in him from day 1 from coaches and compliance departments that he CANNOT accept any benefits from an agent, or have contact with an agent at all... period. Meanwhile, the slimeball agent has broken the law and goes unpunished..... never even gets his name mentioned in the media... he just runs off to another dark alley for another shady deal with another amateur athlete... and gets another program put on probation..
The problem here is the structure of the authorative entities... the NCAA can punish a program for something they had nothing to do with.... they have no authority over the agents... so there's nothing to even deter the agents from pursuing more kids....the agents don't care if they get every program in the country on probation as long as they're getting their pockets padded off the reputation of an athletes skills...
The NFL and the players union have authority over agents and unethical practices.... yet they won't do anything to help...
Until now... I guarantee you things are about to change...
The way I feel about it is it shouldn't even be a penalty handed down unless a booster or someone associated with the University is attempting to attract recruits via benefits (money, fancy cars, etc.).... that is an unfair competitive advantage and should be punished.... if you can't land a recruit without that type of behavior then you don't deserve him...
What's strange is that the best players that come out of the University of Alabama are seldom ever 5 star recruits..... they're mostly 2 and 3 stars.... occassionally 4 stars...etc...
Which speaks to the ability of a coaching staff to develope football players... It's not right for agents to be cashing in on this as long as the player still has eligibility and is the coaches and programs responsibility..
The difference between Saban and the agents is that HE is the one that invested the knowledge, coaching, time, effort, and resources to give this kid a chance to play at the next level.... the agent did nothing but piggy back off of Saban's coaching ability to cash in....
If you can't see the difference there it's only because you choose not to...
