Here’s a recent sports news story I both LIKE and DISLIKE. I like it because a brave man steps forward to shed light on a serious sports violation, but dislike it because he reveals the commonality of the violation among college athletics.
While browsing the sports section of CNN.com, I was struck by one of its online polls. It read, “Who should be held most responsible for college players accepting extra benefits?” The answer choices given were agents, coaches, players and schools. I quickly gave my reply–agents (48 percent of CNN.com viewers agreed with me). I figure, these men and women have licenses; this is their job! They should know the rules, abide by them and help keep young, vulnerable college players out of trouble. However, my opinion would quickly come to change.
Purposefully positioned next to the poll was a special report that would feature in the October issue of Sports Illustrated entitled “Confessions of an Agent.” This intrigued me. The teaser said that Josh Luchs, a former NFL agent, “paid thousands of dollars to dozens of college football players”-a violation of NCAA rules that would deem an athlete ineligible-and is now “coming clean on sports’ dirtiest business.” I expected some sad story about an agent who got busted giving out benefits and is trying to throw the blame on someone else. Instead, I read about a man who spent his life striving to be the best in his business, who learned from his mistakes (instead of just denying them), and who merely wants to now inform people just how the agent business really works.
His story was eye opening. Turns out, the practice of college players receiving benefits from agents is very widespread and near impossible to stop, but even more alarming is that in many circumstances it’s the athletes initiating the illegal exchanges. In the beginning of Luchs’ career as an agent, he was manipulated into paying an athlete hoping it would ensure this player as a future client of his. This athlete didn’t sign with him. He learned from this mistake, but as the years went on he and his first partner headed their recruiting by offering extra benefits. Luchs admits to all of this and says if he could go back he wouldn’t have changed a thing. To Luchs this was just how business was done, and to even further encourage the practice he considered these athletes his friends who he was just trying to help out with expenses.
Luchs tells stories of the many times he gave money to athletes and even names them all! In some cases, you see that it’s not the agent taking advantage of the athlete as many might assume, but the athlete taking advantage of an agent and their desire to sign them. Later in his career Luchs partnered with different men who did not reel in athletes with cash, but there was always some other type of leveraging.
Ultimately, Luchs story has made me rethink my thoughts on agent/athlete relationships. As a University of Texas student-athlete, believe me when I say that university compliance teams hammer into the heads of student-athletes all the information and NCAA rules needed to keep us eligible multiple times a year. Athletes who do accept extra benefits are aware of the, but maybe seem to think it is still okay because it is so common and just “how business is done.” This is becoming a bad trend because more and more in the news we see athletes getting busted for such actions. Don’t they know how good they have it? Why can’t those top athletes wait a few more years to make it big in the pros and then see the money pour in? What will be interesting to see is if following the publication of Luchs’ story there becomes tighter surveillance of agent/athlete relationships.
So what does everyone think about Luchs dirty secrets? How common do you such agent/athlete violations are?
To read the full story about Luchs and his confessions, which I highly recommend, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment