BREAKING: Johnny Manziel Investigation

[The_Admiral]

This prevailing "he broke a rule and rules are rules and that's most decidedly that" rhetoric is a level of intellectual bankruptcy that I thought our community was above, but there's also the proliferation of There Should Be An Expansion Team Up Your Mom's Ass threads here, so maybe we're all just having a bad week.

[Gothamite]

unless you're a trust fund baby

Like Manziel. So all this has little relevance to his case.

He doesn't need the money. He's not not some poor struggling student wanting a couple bucks to take his girlfriend out for pizza, he's a spoiled rich kid who thinks he's above the rules.

You want to turn this into a discussion of the rules themselves, then find a better poster boy.

[McCall]

He knew the rules when he chose to play college football. He didn't have to go to school, but he did. And when you make that choice, you are accepting those rules and must abide by them. And when you break those rules, you must live with the consequences. Otherwise, choose something else.

[BBTV]

Waah, more "I had to work, I had to go to class, I'm a dope with a worthless degree working 60 hrs / week at $10/ hr and they should be too!" posts.

For the record, I do think that the rules stink and players do deserve more in exchange for the revenue they generate. As Gothamite said, something like "the best way to show how dumb a rule is is to blatantly disregard it... and pay the price" is right. He has leverage here - he doesn't need college football at this point. If anything, sitting out just protects him from injury until he's draft eligible. Texas AM needs him more than he needs them, and they'll (probably) fight to keep him active, and if not, oh well.

Your average accounting major isn't worth anything in college. Your average heisman QB is. That's just the way it is. Is it fair that at 19 years old his autograph and likeness can earn him thousands of dollars that he's not allowed to collect, and an injury next week can make him worthless? I say cash in. Nothing in life is guaranteed, so take what you can get when you can get it.

And of course, if you get caught, do your time. Technically, there is nothing that's "not allowed". It's a trade off. It's "well, you can murder someone, but if you do, this is the price you will pay." It's a choice. If he's decided that he's willing to accept the trade off in exchange for selling his signature or whatever else, then so what. And it's not even that you have to pay the price. It's more like "if you're caught, and lose your fight, then this is the price you'll pay." The process allows for people to squirm out of situations like this. If there's holes there, why not penetrate them?

Every single day, corporations make decisions to violate codes or "rules" and just accept the fines because it's in their long term interest to do so. That's just capitalism. To hate on Johnny Manziel is to hate on America.

[The_Admiral]

Some people are going after Manziel, and some people are going after the NCAA, but what we're losing sight of is that people who derive a significant portion of significant income from selling things famous people wrote their names on should be treated as America's burakumin.

[Gothamite]

Is it fair that at 19 years old his autograph and likeness can earn him thousands of dollars that he's not allowed to collect, and an injury next week can make him worthless? I say cash in. Nothing in life is guaranteed, so take what you can get when you can get it.

Fine, then. Let him start paying the full market price for his education and we'll talk.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Is it fair that at 19 years old his autograph and likeness can earn him thousands of dollars that he's not allowed to collect, and an injury next week can make him worthless? I say cash in. Nothing in life is guaranteed, so take what you can get when you can get it.

Fine, then. Let him start paying the full market price for his education and we'll talk.

Take it out of the salary the school should be paying him.

[BBTV]

Is it fair that at 19 years old his autograph and likeness can earn him thousands of dollars that he's not allowed to collect, and an injury next week can make him worthless? I say cash in. Nothing in life is guaranteed, so take what you can get when you can get it.

Fine, then. Let him start paying the full market price for his education and we'll talk.

If you're considering education fair compensation, then would a player at a super expensive private school technically be earning more than a player at a state school?

The free education thing cannot be dismissed, however this isn't the "good old days" where the scholarship means what it used to.

[rams80]

Is it fair that at 19 years old his autograph and likeness can earn him thousands of dollars that he's not allowed to collect, and an injury next week can make him worthless? I say cash in. Nothing in life is guaranteed, so take what you can get when you can get it.

Fine, then. Let him start paying the full market price for his education and we'll talk.

Take it out of the salary the school should be paying him.

That's how it works for GA-ships. At least as far as the taxman is concerned.

[Gothamite]

The free education thing cannot be dismissed, however this isn't the "good old days" where the scholarship means what it used to.

If that's true, then it's on the players.

You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make Johnny think.

[NJTank]

You know the NCAA is such a joke, they sell jersys with the players name but if the player makes a nickle back its a major scandal.

[BBTV]

Every top player should do this and get their eligibility revoked. Rules would change real quick.

The players have the leverage here, they just either don't realize it, or can't organize.

Not sure if "amateurs" can form a union, but it would do them a ton of good.

[Gothamite]

Every top player should do this and get their eligibility revoked. Rules would change real quick.

Maybe somebody will someday have the courage of their convictions and do just that. I would respect the hell out of that.

But these players don't see it that way, I suspect. They see it as a three-year pit stop on the way to immense fame and riches. Who's willing to stop that?

[McCall]

Every top player should do this and get their eligibility revoked. Rules would change real quick.

The players have the leverage here, they just either don't realize it, or can't organize.

Not sure if "amateurs" can form a union, but it would do them a ton of good.

If they want to do this, then don't go play college ball. No one's forcing them to. Why change everything to accommodate some kids who will be making millions in a few years anyway? It's like going into a freakin steakhouse and demanding they start serving seafood because its what you want. They have options. If they choose college, they are accepting the rules that come with it. And they're well aware of them by now. Don't need another damn union screwing everything up. They got it better than any other student and yet it's still not good enough. That's definition of greedy, which I thought was evil to you? They can lax the rules on them being able to make money outside of sports, allow them to hold jobs or sell personal items, but they do not need to be paid like pros.

[capn89]

I personally think the saddest part of this, or any similar story, is that we exist in a society where there are those who believe someone writing their name down is worth shelling out money, any money at all, for.

[McCall]

I personally think the saddest part of this, or any similar story, is that we exist in a society where there are those who believe someone writing their name down is worth shelling out money, any money at all, for.

Unless I actually meet them and ask for one (which I still wouldn't probably do except for a few select people), it doesn't mean much. At least not to buy. So someone wrote their name on a football. Big deal. I'm gonna shell out a few hundred extra bucks for that ball?

[Brian in Boston]

Frankly, I find the saddest part of all of this to be that we live in a country where the better part of the populace has come to believe - indeed, expect - that it is incumbent upon institutions of higher education to provide their students, alumni, donors, and the nation's citizenry at large with top-flight athletic entertainment.

I was under the impression that the purpose of universities and colleges - be they public or private - was to provide enrolled students with the instruction necessary to earn an academic degree in a field of specialized study. Athletics on campus? I always took it to be an extracurricular activity meant to promote the idea of "a sound mind in a sound body", while providing students with a brief respite from the aforementioned academic pursuits.

Sadly, the cart is now far too likely to lead the horse insofar as the relationship between athletics and academics is concerned on the campuses of our nation's universities and colleges. There are countless executives and administrators at academic institutions throughout the country who should hang their heads in shame for allowing and enabling said skewing of priorities to take place on their watch.

[ElwoodCuse]

If they want to do this, then don't go play college ball. No one's forcing them to.

The NFL and NBA are, with their age limits, which were instituted to protect the interests of their free minor league.

Ed O'Bannon can't destroy the NCAA fast enough.

[McCall]

If they want to do this, then don't go play college ball. No one's forcing them to.

The NFL and NBA are, with their age limits, which were instituted to protect the interests of their free minor league.

Ed O'Bannon can't destroy the NCAA fast enough.

There's other pro leagues out there, including Europe. They don't have age limits. It's what Brandon Jennings did. They may not be as great but its an alternative. Again, they made the choice to play college over those other options. If they can't follow the rules, they have no one to blame but themselves.

[rams80]

Every top player should do this and get their eligibility revoked. Rules would change real quick.

The players have the leverage here, they just either don't realize it, or can't organize.

Not sure if "amateurs" can form a union, but it would do them a ton of good.

If they want to do this, then don't go play college ball. No one's forcing them to. Why change everything to accommodate some kids who will be making millions in a few years anyway? It's like going into a freakin steakhouse and demanding they start serving seafood because its what you want. They have options. If they choose college, they are accepting the rules that come with it. And they're well aware of them by now. Don't need another damn union screwing everything up. They got it better than any other student and yet it's still not good enough. That's definition of greedy, which I thought was evil to you? They can lax the rules on them being able to make money outside of sports, allow them to hold jobs or sell personal items, but they do not need to be paid like pros.

Rebuttal: Excellent college athlete who is a consensus first round draft pick blows out their knee in the course of a regular season game. Still think they're going to make millions?

And no, they don't have it better than students on academic full rides. Those students can still get jobs.

If they want to do this, then don't go play college ball. No one's forcing them to.

The NFL and NBA are, with their age limits, which were instituted to protect the interests of their free minor league.

Ed O'Bannon can't destroy the NCAA fast enough.

There's other pro leagues out there, including Europe. They don't have age limits. It's what Brandon Jennings did. They may not be as great but its an alternative. Again, they made the choice to play college over those other options. If they can't follow the rules, they have no one to blame but themselves.

Yeah Europe is awash with pro American football leagues.