[croco]

Meh, is this really a big deal ? I bet most heavily recruited kids have accepted some kind of gifts. Even scholarships are bribes after all, the NCAA is not an amateur organization although they still want to act like one. This is hypocrisy at its best.

[Dre™]

Please. I'm pretty sure every All-American talent is getting preferential treatment. This guy is just bitter Mayo broke off from him, now he's snitching.

[luther]

These past few posts are the exact problem. We all know there is hypocrisy. We all know there is cheating. But yet, yes, cheating is a big deal. The problem is, the entire system needs to be overhauled so that the cheating doesn't have to happen.

[TM]

Originally Posted by croco

Meh, is this really a big deal ?

For the college, obviously yes... Just to add to what you said about the NCAA's hypocrisy ~ this is why the major colleges get a slap when violations happen. The NCAA knows where their money comes from. So I guess, no, it's not really that big of a deal.

[croco]

Originally Posted by luther

These past few posts are the exact problem. We all know there is hypocrisy. We all know there is cheating. But yet, yes, cheating is a big deal. The problem is, the entire system needs to be overhauled so that the cheating doesn't have to happen.

Cheating is too human to not happen, we all know that. The problem is that some colleges can afford huge bribes while others can't, there is never going to be a balance. I think the system is actually relatively fair if you compare it to professional sports or sports in Europe, colleges and teams have a chance to establish (very) good programs.

[Diable]

The thing that should happen is that the NBA players association should find out if this is true and then decertify this agency if it is.That would pretty much put an end to this sort of thing once and for all because the penalty would eliminate all the potential gain and put the perpetrator out of business.I assume the government could do the exact same thing,but it would be easier for the NBAPA.

[luther]

Everyone is assuming nothing will happen, but think about what DOES happen: UNLV, Michigan, Minnesota and other schools have been virtually crippled by sanctions. A couple years without postseason opportunities or with fewer scholarships can really demolish a team, taking years to come back. No, they don't disappear altogether, but they drop significantly in stature. UNLV and Michigan were both perennial national powers before their sanctions. They were true destination schools. Now? They're working their ways back to respectability, but neither brings fear to opponents' hearts; neither exactly inspires potential recruits from around the country. USC isn't even lucky enough to have been at that level, and are more analogous to Minnesota--a school that sometimes has been competitive, but that's about it. A couple scholarships lost, a few postseasons at home, and they're going to endure half a decade or more of desperation.

[c_dog]

it's easy for people to point fingers and say what mayo did was wrong. i think almost anybody when presented with free gifts and big money would take it without much thought, especially when they come from poor families like mayo. mayo did what 99.99% of the people would do given the exact same scenario. it may be wrong, but nobody would turn it down unless they were a saint or something.

and people can talk about changing the system all they want but it's not that simple. colleges will keep on bribing kids into accepting their scholarships, and there's really not much anybody can do about it.

[luther]

Originally Posted by croco

Cheating is too human to not happen, we all know that. The problem is that some colleges can afford huge bribes while others can't, there is never going to be a balance. I think the system is actually relatively fair if you compare it to professional sports or sports in Europe, colleges and teams have a chance to establish (very) good programs.

But the cheating in this case comes from an inherent conflict of interest that comes from pretending money-making high-level sports have some natural affiliation with universities. They don't. Yes, there has always been and always will be cheating, but when there seems to be such a simple way of removing the need to cheat in this instance, it's a shame nobody wants to take care of it, instead acting as if those perpetrators who get caught are some lone rogue elements.

[luther]

Originally Posted by c_dog

it's easy for people to point fingers and say what mayo did was wrong. i think almost anybody when presented with free gifts and big money would take it without much thought, especially when they come from poor families like mayo. mayo did what 99.99% of the people would do given the exact same scenario. it may be wrong, but nobody would turn it down unless they were a saint or something.

and people can talk about changing the system all they want but it's not that simple. colleges will keep on bribing kids into accepting their scholarships, and there's really not much anybody can do about it.

This has the makings of the whole "did Boozer cheat the Cavs" thread all over again... But really, if Mayo were smart, why not take what would certainly have been a much larger offer to play pro ball instead of taking a measly $30k? You can't tell me Real Madrid or Panathinaikos wouldn't have offered more than 10x that.