Fairness in the Pay of School Athletes

University of Miami Pell Grant Scandal

Between 2002 and 2010 Nevin Shapiro donated approximately $170 dollars to primarily to the football team but also to the University of Miami´s athletic department. Nevin took over the business after Luther Campbell a rapper who made generous donations to the football team as well as make music about the team and created a thuggish street crime image of the Miami Hurricanes. Nevin said that he would go on live interview and admit to giving money to players who played for the Miami Hurricanes. He paid the players using investor funds and is currently serving a 20 year sentence for securities fraud, money laundering and ponzi scheme. He violated 4 major laws

“Bylaw 11, involving impermissible compensation to coaches; Bylaw 12, involving amateurism of athletes; Bylaw 13, involving improper recruiting activity; and Bylaw 16, involving extra benefits to athletes”. Some reports came out as athletes getting discounts on apartments as well as discounts on automobiles and making illegal contact with agents while the student athletes were still in school. One of the members of the pell grant system was rap star Luther Campbell, he also threatened to go to the reporters if Ryan Collins was not named starting quarterback. ('Report: Nevin,' n.d.). ('The Miami,' n.d.). ('Miami Admits,' n.d.).

Do's and don'ts

The rules of recruiting are as followed ¨A contact happens any time a college coach says more than hello during a face-to-face meeting with a college-bound student-athlete or his or her parents off the college’s campus. An evaluation happens when a college coach observes a student-athlete practicing or competing. A verbal commitment happens when a college-bound student-athlete verbally agrees to play sports for a college before he or she signs or is eligible to sign a National Letter of Intent. The commitment is not binding on the student-athlete or the school and can be made at any time. When a student-athlete officially commits to attend a Division I or II college, he or she signs a National Letter of Intent, agreeing to attend that school for one academic year.¨.

Visits for college bound athletes that is paid for by the college is considered an official visit. Visits paid for by the student or their parents are considered unofficial. While on an official visit the college can pay for transportation as well as lodging, food and entertainment such as a sporting event. ¨During a contact period, a college coach may have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents. During an evaluation period, a college coach may watch college-bound student-athletes compete, visit their high schools and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents. However, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents off the college’s campus during an evaluation period. During a quiet period, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. Coaches may write or telephone college-bound student-athletes or their parents during this time. During a dead period, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. Coaches may write and telephone student-athletes or their parents during a dead period.¨ ('Recruiting,' n.d.).

Coaches cannot give money to players in any form or any possible way, at certain points of the year they can talk to you only on campus. They cannot give you any materialistic items until you go on your official visit when you are a senior in high school.

For baseball there are to be

No phone calls before July 1 after an athlete’s junior year.

After July 1, outside of a contact period, athletes can receive one call per week per coach/institution.

During a contact period, coaches can contact athletes at the institution’s discretion.

Contact period—Friday after the second Thursday of September through the Sunday before the early period National Letter of Intent (NLI) signing date and March 1 through August 31 of an athlete’s senior year. ('Amateurism,' n.d.).

Scandals involving coaches have been around for years but one of the most prolific ones is Coach John Calipari when he was the head coach at the University of Massachusetts. John Calipari and Marcus Camby were accused of accepting luxurious gifts such as cars, jewelry as well as having hookers invited on campus. The NCAA actually stripped UMASS of its tournament victories and forced the school to pay $151,617. The reports sprang up after a press conference when Marcus Camby appeared in a sparkling and obviously expensive silver chain necklace. Coach Cal led UMASS to five consecutive Atlantic 10 Conference Title games. Marcus Camby helped UMASS reach the Final Four by winning the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith College Player Of The Year Award. However, these awards and significant wins were taken away after he accepted $28,000 from two sports agents. ('John Calipari,' n.d.).

Conclusion

Athletic departments have been corrupt for years, this wave of corruption is nothing new. What people fail to realize is that if a college coach goes to a neighborhood that's run down, has regular gun violence, and drug dealers on the corner of every street they will realize that this kid needs money aside from a scholarship. There's a type of mentality that these kids have that they have to make it to the league to take care of their family so that they don't have to worry about money ever again. If a college coach comes into a dangerous neighborhood trying to recruit a kid to play a sport for his school that coach will hand that kid a briefcase of thirty thousand dollars and say ¨You and your family can get out here and live a happy life and you will receive a college degree as well as possibly playing professionally¨. I can guarantee that every time that situation occurs that the kid will say yes every time. He will say yes because he now knows that he won't have to worry about his family getting murdered or being surrounded by danger, that his brothers and sisters won't have to be another statistic, that they can go to college and make a name for themselves. Some people don't realize that these kids don't have anything. They don't have lights on in their house all the time, they don't have water running, they don't have food or a bed to sleep,

sometimes they don't have parents to take care of them and they have to take care of themselves.

I watched a video about a young man named Inky Johnson. He grew up in a very poor household in Atlanta, Georgia. He played football starting at a very young age and he soon realized that this was his opportunity to make it out of the ¨hood¨ and take care of his family. Everynight after practice he waited until 10:30 at night for his mom to pick him up after her shift at Wendy's, when she arrived he then asked her to leave her car lights on for a little bit longer so that he could do extra drills after practice. He said ¨Mama, I'm going to make it to the NFL so that we don't have to worry about money ever again.¨. Inky received a full scholarship to play football at the University of Tennessee, on his official visit he had a host that asked him if he wanted to go to a sorority party or a basketball game. He then replied with “Can you just take me back to the hotel please” the host said “Why? Are you sick?” Inky replied with “I want to go to the hotel and lay in the bed because it will be the first time I've ever layed in one by myself.”. During a game against Air Force Inky went for a routine tackle and sustained a traumatic injury to his right arm that nearly left him paralyzed. And in the blink of an eye Inquoris “Inky” Johnson's NFL destined football career was over. He went to the hospital and when the doctor said he won’t play football again he replied with “No offense doc, but you don't understand, you weren't there when me and my cousins was sleeping on the dirty floor with the rats and roaches, no offense doc but you werent there when I was asking my mama to leave her headlights on so that I can run extra drills after practice, no offense doc but you didn't run to the bus stop and just before the bus came you had to shakedown your bookbag to make sure there wasn't any rats or roaches in it.”. ('Who Is Inky,' n.d.).

Schools are always getting away with these scandals, the NCAA knows that if they crack down on their big money making schools such as Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Gonzaga, and University of North Carolina then they won’t make any TV profits or proceeds. For example when the Univeristy of North Carolina escaped possibly the worst academic scandal of NCAA history. 

Cite this page