The USC football program recently had to forfeit an entire season of wins, give up 30 scholarships, suffered a two-year bowl ban, and erase any history of their relationship with Reggie Bush, including removing his Heisman Trophy because Reggie Bush’s family received improper benefits from the NCAA. USC is definitely suffering the most, Reggie Bush may have to return his Heisman trophy, but the guilty agents get away free. Reggie Bush is guilty, and USC very likely ignored the whole situation and looked the other way, but should the agents not also be held responsible? Of course, the USC situation is not the only episode – this happens way too often in collegiate sports, and the school suffers the most, while the athletes generally get away relatively free (since they are out of school by the time the sanctions come), and it is just another day for agents.
Yesterday (July 21st, 2010) at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) media day, Nick Saban discussed the NCAA investigations into players from SEC teams, including some of his own players, may have accepted gifts from agents. Saban noticed that agents were preying on college athletes, and he called out agents for what they are: pimps. To my surprise, many of the respected sports journalists I follow on Twitter were in an uproar! Granted, Nick Saban’s track record leaves a sour taste in most people’s mouth – as coach of the Miami Dolphins, Saban promised over and over again he would not leave the Dolphins for the University of Alabama coaching position; then after the season, Saban left for Alabama. However, whether or not Saban should be trusted is irrelevant; Saban’s point that agents act like pimps is true. Of course, agents are not literally pimps, but the analogy that agents act like pimps is true.
What does a pimp do? He gives women gifts, makes them dependent and loyal, then sells their bodies for sex for a profit. What does a dishonest agent do? He offers a collegiate athlete gifts, makes them loyal to them, and then when they make large amounts of money, the agent profits from it. Both college athletes and prostitutes often come from poor backgrounds and are vulnerable to exploitation, but of course star college athletes have much more promising futures than prostitutes. Nonetheless, both the pimp and the dishonest agent profit from manipulating those who are in need of an immediate gain. For Reggie Bush, his parents were apparently kicked out of their house a couple years before their son would be the second pick in the NFL draft and promised millions of dollars. So when an agent offers Reggie Bush’s parents a house, how much can we blame him for being tempted?
The agents Lloyd Lake and Michael Michaels sued Reggie Bush because they claimed they provided him with over $300k while he was a student athlete in exchange for him signing with them when he turned professional, but he signed with another agent who was also involved with bribing him. Reggie Bush made mistakes, but the agents acted as pimps, so why should they be let off? While we point fingers at players and schools, who definitely deserve a share of the blame, the agents get away without any blame. Ideally college athletes would resist the temptations of sports agents, but agents also deserve blame and punishment for acting like pimps and bribing college athletes.
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