The latest in an ongoing series of major college sports scandals now finds former Miami real estate mogul Nevin Shapiro in the eye of a storm regarding his involvement as a Miami Hurricanes Booster who provided millions of dollars in cash and benefits to Hurricanes football players. In an exhaustive investigation conducted by Yahoo Sports, Shapiro outlined an exhaustive list of players, coaches and school administrators who were aware of the nefarious activities. The investigation will undoubtedly sully the reputation of one of the most dominant football programs of the last quarter century, if it does not gut the program completely through NCAA sanctions up to and including the Death Penalty, which would shut the program down for a determined number of years. The NCAA has only implemented this penalty once, in the 1980s, when the then dominant Southern Methodist University program was gutted for similar violations. For the record, SMU has yet to return to football prominence.
It seems as if barely six months passes without another college sports scandal garnering national headlines. In 2006, Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar was forced to leave school after participating in a "no show job" scheme. Last year, Reggie Bush was forced to relinquish his Heisman Trophy after it was revealed that he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal benefits from a would-be sports agent while enrolled at USC from 2004-2006.
Earlier this year, Ohio State University Coach Jim Tressel resigned amid a scandal involving illegal benefits, including luxury cars for star players, including quarterback Terrell Pryor, who many believed was a leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy this fall. Speaking of the Heisman, last year's winner, Cameron Newton, played despite persistent rumors that his father, Cecil, shopped his services during recruiting to Mississippi State University for $180k.
And lest we forget North Carolina Chapel Hill, where Coach Butch Davis was fired last month because several players were accused last year of, again, accepting illegal benefits from would be agents.
Davis, ironically, recruited several star players implicated by Shapiro while serving as Miami's coach during the early 2000's. The list of the accused reads like a slate of future Hall of Fame candidates, including the late Sean Taylor, who dominated from his free safety position for the Washington Redskins, and Vince Wilfork, the All-Pro defensive tackle for the New England Patriots.
While Shapiro's story consists of mere allegations at this point, as the old saying goes, "where there is smoke, usually there is fire." Perhaps the better cliché is "cut off the supply and reduce the demand." Or, better yet, harshly punish both the supplier and the demander.
As federal investigators sort through Shapiro's information to determine whether any federal indictments will be handed down, it is clear that Congress must enact legislation that creates stiff criminal penalties for individuals who serve as runners for agents, as well as the agents themselves who cause so much trouble.
While Shapiro is in prison, the truth is that there are dozens of other Shapiro's that are actively plaguing a major college program near you or actively seeking to get a foot in the door. Perhaps the prospect of serving 20 years in prison will do just the trick in slowing down the agents and their goons who care less about the sanctity of amateur athletics.
And let's be clear, those athletes whose greed places themselves and their institutions at risk should be forced to pay a penalty, too. Most of those implicated probably are sitting smug in the belief that nothing can happen to them as they have moved on to the professional ranks. Perhaps the NFL and NCAA should join forces and consider long-term suspensions without pay—or even banishment from professional football for the most egregious offenders.
The excuse that most of these young athletes hail from poor backgrounds is just that—an excuse, as there are thousands of poor young men and women matriculating through colleges and universities across America who don't have the benefits of tutors, free tuition and training table for meals.
And while the idea of major college athletes receiving a stipend seems reasonable, the ones earning tens of thousands of dollars from shady agents and boosters would consider any stipend a mere pittance anyway. It is this ilk that must face harsh sanctions. If the NCAA and the NFL are serious about rooting out such corruption, such draconian measures must be implemented, or else we will realize that talk of reform is just that—talk.
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