Saw31
High Seas Rogue
Obviously this has become a big topic of late. It also is readily apparent that this has been going on for years and years. No school is immune. No coach is immune. I guess the next step is to find ways in dealing with it.
So it seems to me that a possible solution could be to go ahead and legitimize the process by allowing the schools to bring in the agents for a formal "meet and greet". Instead of the runners and back alley dealings, bring the whole process out into the light of day using a legitimate, formalized process. Kinda of like a "job fair" that would be ok in other lines of work. Make it part of the academic process for athletes. The agents get what they want, the opportunity to meet future clients. The schools can have some control over who is approaching their athletes. Coaches can be in a position to advise their players. If particular agents break the rules, they can be blackballed by the school, or across all participating schools. The agents who break rules face real consequences by losing the ability to meet the kids in this formal process, which in turn puts them at a severe competitive disadvantage in luring clients compared to the agents who follow the rules.
To me it seems that if their were "legal" ways of having contact with agents while still maintaining amateur status and eligibility, a lot of this could be controlled above board. And preparing these athletes for future employment in their field of endeavor (pro football in this case) seems like something schools should be doing anyway.
Just my thoughts...
So it seems to me that a possible solution could be to go ahead and legitimize the process by allowing the schools to bring in the agents for a formal "meet and greet". Instead of the runners and back alley dealings, bring the whole process out into the light of day using a legitimate, formalized process. Kinda of like a "job fair" that would be ok in other lines of work. Make it part of the academic process for athletes. The agents get what they want, the opportunity to meet future clients. The schools can have some control over who is approaching their athletes. Coaches can be in a position to advise their players. If particular agents break the rules, they can be blackballed by the school, or across all participating schools. The agents who break rules face real consequences by losing the ability to meet the kids in this formal process, which in turn puts them at a severe competitive disadvantage in luring clients compared to the agents who follow the rules.
To me it seems that if their were "legal" ways of having contact with agents while still maintaining amateur status and eligibility, a lot of this could be controlled above board. And preparing these athletes for future employment in their field of endeavor (pro football in this case) seems like something schools should be doing anyway.
Just my thoughts...