Refrain from overreacting to the title. The games will still be played. The names of the Universities will be on the jerseys. The players, however, will not be homegrown, regional, or dedicated to a school. Hell, why would they even go to class at this point?
The term "collegiate sports" is becoming increasingly meaningless by the year. I'm not necessarily saying this is a bad thing. I'd just like some consistency in the terminology. What we really have is a semi-pro league where players are paid to play, and can roam from team to team without any interruption, unless you're Matthew Sluka.
Yes, despite a new law passing that players can transfer as much as they desire without sitting out a year, you still can't quit 3 games in and play somewhere else a week later....at least not yet, give it time.
Former players are starting to speak out too, noticing the shift in the intent of playing at this level. When I was growing up, that kid from Ohio wanted to be a Buckeye. The kid from East Lansing would give anything to be a Spartan. That homegrown, education-based, doing it for "the love of the game" is dead.
The name on the jersey is now basically your employer. And it's not even on the "up and up". People like Barstool's Dave Portnoy have pledged millions to bring in QBs for Michigan. College sports have gone from almost wholesome (aside from the old way of cheating, getting to that soon) to a bidding war for players.
Quitting after a 3-0 start is catching on too, Sluka's teammate Michael Allen has followed suit.
I know, I know, these players have been "exploited" for years. Right? It's just telling that a free education worth $100k means nothing to the general population. And I could go on and on about how crooked the NCAA is, but is this better? Somebody paid Sluka $100k, only for him to bounce after 3 games. Is that better, worse, or the same as the old way?
If you think it's the same type of exploiting the NCAA has been doing for decades, why are you ok with it?
So many people are justifying this. The crazy part to me is, Sluka was completing only around 40% of his passes. His team beat Kansas, who's 1-3, so don't pretend Sluka led UNLV to some monumental upset of a Power 5 juggernaut.
What happened was, some new agent Sluka hired in week 2 convinced him he's a million-dollar man. So he quit. And it sounds like his dad was also in his ear.
Just grab that bag, right? Ok then, but let's stop pretending there's something original, wholesome, or pure about "college sports". That world is gone, forever. There is no coming back.
Let's be fair though, college sports always had money issues. When Cam Newton's dad admitted teams were bidding for his services, the world wasn't all that shocked.
Reggie Bush's family received benefits too, not just the player. And I remember in the 80s as a kid hearing some sketchy agents would funnel money to big-time players.
So which is better? At least back then, it was somewhat limited and controlled. Now, we have UNLV players who complete 40% of their passes quitting and shopping themselves around like they're Joe Namath. And don't look for it to get any better.
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