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Rules Must Adjust To Pro-Minded Athletes
Pocket Cash For Players Would Help Matters
Ever since college football began to attract the student body and adjacent community to the games for entertainment, pressure has developed for the teams to win, especially against their traditional
rivals
Scoop Hudgins
Cats' Pause Columnist
Admirers love to display their support to the stars. Early, other students treated them at the soda shops and favored them at campus dances. Merchants would give them movie passes and discount other items to them.
To some players their work on the field was worth more than classroom duty, and they cashed in on their athletic ability. "Tramp athletes" developed who moved from school to school, sometimes even playing as a "ringer" on a team other than their own.
This tendency of top players to work at their athletic skills instead of studies and to take the most immediately-rewarding "deal" offered, by school, alumnus or pro agent, has ballooned in this age of TV sports. The money has zoomed from a few dollars or extra tickets to thousands now and promises of millions.
Most of the new pro-minded athletes go for it.
Agent Jim Abernethy revealed in Atlanta this week that he had paid nine college athletes with eligibility remaining. Five are from the Southeastern areafootballers Kevin Porter and Tracy Rocker at Auburn, Riccardo Ingram at Georgia Tech and basketballers Marvin Alexander and Sylvester Gray at Memphis State.
ABERNETHY CLAIMS 80 PERCENT of the top 330 -senior football players have accepted money from agents. He says, "There isnt a clean program in the country."
Another agent says, "That's totally absurd." Another estimates 20 percent. Still another feels Abernethy may be right. Jim Solano says, "In my 18 years, it's almost always substantially more than half."
Abernethy blames the unrealistic NCAA rules, whose athletic scholarships are limited to tuition, books and fees, plus room and board. No money for laundry or dry cleaning, nor other daily essentials. Athletes are not allowed to earn money during the school year, though persons on other scholarships canmusic, theater, art, engineering, band, etc.
The impractical rules and the uneven application of them is frustrating. For instance, Pittsburgh footballers Charles Gladman and Teryl Austin took money from an agent. They were declared ineligible, but Austin repaid the agent $2,500, then was suspended for two games, and returned to the team.
From the 1940s for several years forward, NCAA rules allowed S15 per month to be attached to the athletic scholarships for cost of laundry and other essentials. It was most helpful to athletes whose families could not afford to help them, but that was cut in an economy move.
A return to that program, in some form (I suggest S100 per month) would remove much stress from the penniless student-athlete. When the good athlete needs money, he strains the rules to get it. His coach also strains the rules to help him. The AD trusts the coach to strain, but not break, for the good of the team. The president trusts the AD to run a clean program.
WHEN THESE TWO TENDENCIES toward dishonestyan athlete who lies for cash and a college which will cheat to win-exist at the same school, a smooth professional agent can become the catalyst. Boom! And they're all off to a life of personal shame, known to be dishonest and untrustworthy.
Abernethy said he was disgusted by the hypocrisy of college sports.
"I came into this business because I truly love sports," he said, "but I started to see a lot I don't like. It was getting hard to look in the mirror"
Do the players, coaches, AD's and presidents enjoy looking in the mirror?
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COACHES' CORNER
[Continued From Page 8]
with confidence. I told him if he missed a couple of shot, that's OK. I told him to play defense. I said, "Richard, I've seen you play great games before, I know you can play, and I'm going to give you this opportunity. It was a "do-better-talk;," but in a very positive manner. He responded. I wish I could give a talk like that to everybody. It makes me feel good and I know it makes him feel very good. His teammates were elated. They were all over there patting him on the back and telling him how much they appreciated his efforts tonight.
Question: What do you need to do to get better as a team?
Sutton: The biggest problem we have right now is the same one I've been telling you in the press conferencewe've got to do a better job offensively. We've got to do a better job on our shot selection. We've got to handle the ball a little longer and not put up it up so quickly, even though it might not be a bad shot. The shot comes too quickly and we end up having exert so much energy on the defensive end. You can rest a little bit at the offensive end and you can tire the opposition out by handling the ball for seven, eight, nine, 10 passes sometimes. We've got to become a little more disciplined at the offensive end than what we have shown thus far.
Question: In terms of long-range goals, does it ease your mind to see Richard finally break out of his slump?
Sutton: Well, we kept hoping that he would do that, because he has done it before. We've got to get him to where. . . if he's done it once then he can do it again. That's what we've got to really try to emphasize to him and have. . is for him to be consistent. Weil see how he plays the next time out. Perhaps he won't play as well (as he did against UNCC) but if he can play nearly that well then we'll be pleased. It does give us a lot of confidnce. I've said all along that our bench is strong. We need to get Jenkins to play like he did last Saturday (against Louisville) and the Saturday before that (against Indiana), and get Richard to play like he did today. We know LeRon (Ellis) is going to get better. I thought Eric (Manuel) came in again tonight and played very well for us. He didn't act like a freshman out there on the court. We've (also) got some other players. We put Reggie (Hanson) in there because he has long arms and we could give Ed (Davender) a little bit of a blow, and maybe that would bother (Byron) Dinkins. He did all right, but the guy started jukin' on him a little bit. He fell down and the guy came down and hit a three-point play. But that can happen to anyone. Dinkins is a fine player. He's very quick. A great shooter. A great scorer.
Question: Back to offensive patience, were you happier with you team's second-half performance?
Sutton: I thought we did a better job in the second half. Even then, though, when we had a five- or six-point lead there were a couple of times we created too quickly. I'm not against a player creating a one-on-one situation and letting it go. . .someone like (Rex) Chapman or Davender. Sometimes you can do it too quicklynot on the first or second pass.
Question: \bu've said that you've noticed teams gunning for Kentucky because they're Kentucky. Have you noticed it even more because your squad is ranked No. 1?
Sutton: I certainly have. Don't you notice it? I thought last night and tonight those two teams played about as hard and as well as they can play.
Question: In the last two games Winston Bennett has had only two fouls. Have you been talking to him any more lately in regard to staying out of foul trouble?
Sutton: We've talked to him. He's going to foul because he's aggressive. The point we've tried to drive home is "Let's try to eliminate the cheap fouls." He did that over the weekend. We hope that continues because that was very encouraging.