The following is an excerpt from my upcoming booklet, Go Pro Like a Pro.
[If you want to receive a copy of the entire booklet, email me @ marc.isenberg@gmail.com]
Chapter 4 deals with the decision a few, select college athletes face:
Stay in school or go pro?
The goal should not be to get to the NBA. It should be to stay in the NBA.
—Jerry West, former NBA superstar guard, longtime general manager and the silhouette in the NBA logo
Too many college athletes have not business leaving turning pro early, but they do so anyway. The goal of players contemplating leaving school with eligibility should be to get the decision right, especially with so much at stake: a college education, money, career goals and even your happiness. So, yes, it’s a big deal.
There’s nothing wrong with doing everything in your power to get to the pros as soon as possible. The purpose of this chapter is to help you focus on the issues that matter in this increase the chances that you get this make-or-break decision right. Everything else is irrelevant. But, making a good decision, based on accurate market information, can significantly determine your success—or your failure.
Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl committed a serious offense when he lied to the NCAA about a silly secondary recruiting violation. Next to Ohio State's football coach Jim Tressel, Pearl almost looks like an NCAA saint.
In April 2010, an unidentified man tipped Tressel off about an alleged "memorabilia for tattoos" scheme. Two weeks after the first email, the man asked that the information be kept confidential, although he never stated why.
Coach Tressel might argue he was protecting his players but, in the end, didn't do them any favors. Had the NCAA known about the situation in April, they could have conducted a more timely investigation. The way it ultimately went down was absurd: The players were allowed to play in OSU's bowl game, but only if they promised to return to school in 2011, rather than declare for the NFL, in order to serve suspension.
It was not just what this man was emailing Tressel; it was also what he was doing. He was acting as a self-appointed operative working to keep this situation from blowing up. Man, did he fail! And now we can examine the "smoking gun" emails, which leaves zero doubt that Tressel knew exactly what was going on. No plausible deniability. No claiming ignorance. Tressel's job is to coach the football team, not to bury possible NCAA violations.
"I have been told OSU players including [name redacted] have been given free tatoo's [sic] in exchange for signed memorabilia."
"I had Eddie Rife in my office for an hour and a half last night."
"He will not talk about this publicly."
"I will try to get these items back that the government now wants to keep for themselves...I know who specifically in the District Attorney's office that is working on this matter and know both of them well so I will try if the opportunity presents itself."
The (wrong) lesson for other powerful football coaches: If you're going to enlist operatives, make sure they are competent. Hint #1 you're dealing with a Keystone Kop: He sends an incendiary email to a work account at a public institution.
Tressel and others can hide behind his stellar reputation developed over 30+ years in college coaching, but is that enough? Then there's this from Tressel's autobiography, unearthed by ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach:
"The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour." Ohio State coach Jim Tressel included that Japanese proverb on Page 193 of his book, "The Winners Manual For The Game of Life." Eight pages later, there's this nugget from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "It takes less time to do the right thing than to explain why you did it wrong."
Nothing like using a man's own rope to hang him with.
Of course, Tressel did not write the playbook when it comes to coaches overstepping their bounds. That honor would probably go to former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne.
"I don't tell Tom Osborne how to run the football department," Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey says, "and he should stay out of the criminal justice system. He hasn't done that at all." According to Lacey, Osborne has taken it upon himself to interview witnesses in criminal cases, offered very public opinions on the probable innocence of players who have yet to stand trial and attacked the credibility of witnesses testifying against his players. In January 1994 he and an assistant even locked away a gun that had allegedly been used by one of his players in the commission of a felony.
I recently wrote in Basketball Times about the coaches' code, the practice of not turning fellow coaches in to the NCAA:
Georgia State football coach Bill Curry (who also coached at Alabama, Georgia Tech and Kentucky) told ESPN The Magazine: “For the most part, when I was involved at the high level of recruiting, we usually called each other and worked it out between the two of us. If we caught someone doing something wrong, I would call and say, ‘Look, let’s talk about this. If we can’t talk about this, I am going to turn it in.’ And I always told them, ‘If you ever get something on us, then you call me. And if I don’t cooperate, you turn us in.’”
Translation: The NCAA’s job might be to investigate possible rules violations, but the coaching fraternity is better served when these matters are settled without involving the NCAA, the rightful legal authority. And Curry is one of truly good guys in college athletics.
The old comic strip Pogo had a classic line that applies here: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
I'm sure Tressel regrets his actions now. But you're kidding yourself if you believe that covering up (or ignoring) such allegations has not been the go-to strategy for many coaches...for many years.
Honesty should be the best policy. But, morals aside, winning in college sports is the ultimate best policy.
Mike Florio provided the play-by-play for Combinegate:
We contacted the agent in question, who strongly denied the allegation. The league denied it, too. Later in the day, we received word from an eyewitness who saw the agent with what initially was described as a player’s credential. The second source later clarified that it was a sponsor’s credential, and the second source said that the agent was handcuffed temporarily. The agent once again strongly denied it. The league once again denied it, too. We then dispatched Rosenthal to sniff around Indy. He spoke with multiple security personnel at Lucas Oil Stadium, but no one admitted to knowing anything."
"No one admitted to knowing anything." In journalism, that small point usually stops an otherwise good story. But that's so 2008. Now, witnesses who lack credibility get elevated to unnamed source status. And the medium formerly known as gossip gets dressed up as hard news.
We like gossip. We want gossip.
Meatballs, one my favorite 80s comedies, reflects the marketplace's zest for gossip...
Who cares about Pat Dye's run-in with the po-po? I want to know about superagent Jimmy Sexton's harrowing, 007-ish escape. According to my imaginative sources, there are only three ways Sexton could have possibly escaped:
1) He avoided capture by scaling Lucas Oil Stadium rafters, then breaking a window, careening down the exterior, then blending in with the 2,242 other NFL agents walking Indy streets.
2) When questioned by Indianapolis police, Sexton pointed out that he was deputized by NCAA cops by virtue of serving on the NCAA's blue ribbon panel to “tackle the complex issue of improper agent activity in college sports.” The fine print: Participation includes immunity from agent laws.
3) Sexton ran from police while Dye played it safe, which is in his family's DNA.
Then Liz Mullen from Sports Business Journal went old-school journalism and got Pat Dye on the phone and on the record.
Talk about a let-the-air-out headline:
NFL Player Agent Pat Dye Jr. Questioned By Police In Indianapolis
According to Pat Dye:
"We were contacted by Under Armour that they would like to have (Dye's and Sexton's client Alabama WR) Julio Jones formally sign his seven-figure marketing deal that includes a national television commercial. I did nothing wrong or illegal."
Dye was "interviewed for about two-and-a-half hours before he was allowed to leave."
That edict was two weeks ago, before Indy overfloweth with 8,000 NFL agents.
These are scary times for sports agents. In 2008, an agent who is no longer working as an agent was arrested for violating Alabama's agent laws. (Last month, an arrest warrant was issued when the former agent failed to show up in court at his plea hearing.) The case dates back to 2005 when the agent allegedly sent an employee to visit Alabama football star Tyrone Prothro, who (pick one) A) just ran for 400 yards against Auburn or B) was in the hospital for what turned to be a career-ending leg fracture.
Correct answer is B.
While every other agent did the math on 3% of nothing and, therefore, complied with Alabama state agent laws, one agent saw an opportunity to get a (gimpy) leg up on his competition. The agent was charged with a misdemeanor for "initiating contact with an athlete without being a registered sports agent in Alabama and a felony charge of failing to register as a sports agent."
Don Valeska, assistant Alabama attorney general prosecuting the case, laid down the law: “Nobody comes to the state of Alabama without following the law and talks to college athletes."
I have no doubt Alabama takes its agents laws very seriously. I wonder, do these laws encourage agents to comply or does it drive these activities further underground? Mr. Valeska hardly sounds like a fair-minded member of the jurisprudence; more like a man mission to protect his state's greatest natural resource: Amateur football players.
What if the NFL was secretly run akin to the WWE? Champions are not made in the offseason...in the weight room...in the film room...on Sunday. No. They're made here...in the writers room! Sort of the literal version of Bill Walsh's "scripting plays." On a more profound (and still comedic) level, it does explore why "concussing" is so dramatic. Enjoy this intense, hard-fought meeting to determine the outcome of Super Bowl XLV by the sketch comedy group, 12 Angry Mascots!
Expedition Into Culture may not be a major news source, but it does know quality. It's just a blog written by a "young journalist looking to provide fresh insight on a wide range of topics." But anyone who appreciates my work (besides my parents or my wife) is always welcome. More so when you consider the company I'm keeping... Dan Brown, Malcolm Gladwell, the late Jim Murray and Paulo Coelho. Together, we've sold millions of books! Also great that a reviewer sees the value of Money Players beyond the intended sports business audience.
Here's my latest Basketball Times article, where I discuss the NCAA, some of its obscure (and insane) rules and, of course, Cam Newton.Spoiler alert: Several times during this article, I defend the NCAA. Stop the presses!
This Wednesday, November 10th, is National Signing Day for college basketball and several other sports. Accepting an athletic scholarship is a huge deal. Unfortunately, the hype and media attention surrounding National Signing Day overshadows the actual agreement, the National Letter of Intent.
Most athletes (and their families) are thrilled to end the recruiting process and accept a guaranteed (or so they are led to believe) 1-year athletic scholarship.
College sports can be great in many ways, but the NLI shows just how lopsided the relationship between athlete and institution really is.
There at least 10 reasons why the NLI sucks. Reading the NLI and listening to the decades-old spin from the NCAA community, it reminds me of the fraternity initiation (er, whipping) from Animal House. "Thank you, sir! May I have another?"
1) It totally misrepresents reality
The NLI stipulates that athletes are signing with school, not athletic program, even if the actual recruiting process reflects the opposite. Yes, we want athletes to factor the school into their decisions, but every dollar—or thousand—an athletic department invests to sign a player signals just the opposite. Kentucky coach John Calipari, who is one of the few coaches willing to put his money where his mouth is (more on that later), once said: "Kids come and go to programs in most cases because of the coach. We can say that's not the case and they're supposed to sign at the school, but let's be real. They want to play for the coach."
2) Yeah, right the NLI is a "voluntary"
Technically, the NLI is a voluntary program. In 2007, the NCAA's Susan Peal, the director of the NLI, told Seth Davis: "Parents call me all the time [with questions], and I tell them hey, you don't have to sign the NLI. The coach will give you an athletics aid agreement, which has to accompany the NLI anyway. Now, will institutions let you do that? Maybe not, but it's worth asking the question." Wishful thinking.
3) "Know the rules...before you sign"
The first thing you see on the NLI website is that statement, which is like telling taxpayers, "Learn the IRS tax code." Even if you know everything, you still have pay taxes. For athletes and their families, even if they know the NLI and NCAA rules cold, almost every recruit will still sign the dadgum thing. The most galling part of the NLI website is that it lists the "many advantages to both prospective student-athletes and participating educational institution." If you say something enough times, you start to believe it. And so do others.
While I write about sports and business, I don't often write about friends embroiled in scandal. Obviously, I couldn't overlook Bruce Pearl's situation without comment. Here's my October Basketball Times column on Bruce Pearl and the state of college sports...
These days, you can’t tell the good guys from the bad
Marc Isenberg
October 2010
Everyone knows cheating is wrong, in all areas of life. As the college sports world and the media continue to grapple with this “agent problem,” we should remember: the problem is far more pervasive than agents. This is a college sports problem. Agents play a key role, no doubt. But, there are many characters in this bad play. There are coaches, trainers, athletic administrators, financial advisors and people whose motives aren’t so clearly defined. Ultimately, everybody wants to make a buck. A million. Or a billion. It’s the American way.
People should abide by the rules, whether they play, work for or are associated with NCAA sports. Violators should be caught. End of story. We’d all love to eradicate or even lessen cheating in college sports. But how?
Many have weighed in on Reggie Bush forfeiting his 2005 Heisman Trophy. While it never should have come to this, Bush can now put this matter behind him--and focus on all the great things he's doing, on and off the field.
Eddie George, 1995 Heisman winner from Ohio State makes an interesting, but seemingly far-fetched point:
"My only concern now is what happens if they find out that in the 1950s a booster bought a player a cup of coffee?"
They cheated back then too? But, let's not sweat the small, garden-variety NCAA rule bending. Let's find something that would be shake the college football world.
For those who like to idealize the days of 'ole, look away. This will not be pretty.
The year is 1959. Billy Cannon was a star running back at LSU. He won the Heisman trophy that year.
Cannon first pro contract? A three-year deal worth $50,000. Signed it November 1959. The GM of the NFL team was clever enough to post-date the contract January 1, 1960 in an attempt to skirt NCAA rules. Cannon led LSU to a Sugar Bowl victory against rival Ole Miss (LSU won 7-3 and Cannon scored the game's only TD on an 89-yard punt return. Imagine if Nick Saban was coaching back then. That would be some press conference when the news broke.
So who pimped Cannon's amateur status? Remember, agents weren't around in 1959. It was the Los Angeles Rams, which wanted to sign Cannon before the upstart American Football League upped the stakes. The mastermind behind this illicit agreement? None other than the mastermind behind modern professional sports, Pete Rozelle, who in 1959 was the Rams general manager.
The public would likely have never found out about this secret, post-dated contract had Cannon not signed a second pro deal. Immediately after the Sugar Bowl, Cannon signed a $100,000 contract to play for the AFL's Houston Oilers. The Oilers sued, claiming Rozelle manipulated Cannon. The Oilers prevailed in court and Cannon's contract with the Rams was voided.
According to Sports Illustrated, "A lawsuit ensued, which the Oilers won. The judge ruled that Rozelle had taken advantage of a 'provincial lad' untutored...in the ways of the business world." In other words, Rozelle "pimped" a college player.
Oh boy. NCAA, it's your turn. Actually, the NCAA cannot do anything: There's a four-year NCAA statute of limitations on investigations. The Heisman Trust, on the other hand, apparently has no such limitations. Cannon was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. Cheating is never right, but it's not like what Reggie Bush did at USC is anything new. There are powerful incentives in college sports to cheat. Always has been. We can (and should) step up our educational and enforcement efforts, but ultimately it comes down to integrity from all parties involved.
LeBron James’ signing with Miami Heat has seemingly polarized the NBA Nation. Most hate everything about it, especially the way the whole thing went down. No need to provide another rundown of all the bad actors in this play. In the end, James was a “free agent,” which, as the name indicates, meant he earned the right to take his services wherever he desired.
The marriage between James and Dan Gilbert was dysfunctional and clearly beyond repair. Surely both sides could have handled everything better, but that didn’t happen. What happens next is anyone’s guess, although most people believe NBA rings are in the Heat’s future. What about the economic impact? Miami Heat troika of stars might be financial windfall that is felt beyond the Heat – and could positively impact the looming CBA negotiations.
Michael Jordan was a money-making machine – and he was universally revered. James was beloved as a Cleveland Cavalier. That changed July 8, 2010 at approximately 9:30pm, when James instantly became the NBA’s version of the Iron Shiek, a reviled WWE character. Miami fans will love him, especially if the Heat win NBA rings. But, to everyone else, the Heat is the new team everyone passionately loves to hate.
