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October 29th, 2009 - byThis week Oklahoma State Wide Receiver Dez Bryant was ruled ineligible for the entire season for lying about a lunch with Deion Sanders. Bryant was questioned about a lunch he had with his mentor and whether any eligibility issues arose. Initially Bryant lied to investigators but no rules were broken regarding his eligibility.
Andy Staples writes that the whole exercise is proof to future recruits that they should cash in their chips as soon as possible.
If the past week has taught us anything, it’s that a college football player with first-round talent should jump to the pros as soon as possible, or, in the case of a sophomore who has proven himself for two years, even sooner than that. The moment NCAA investigators and Oklahoma State compliance officials began asking Bryant questions about his offseason visit to Deion Sanders’ home, Bryant should have politely said, “Thank you for your time, but if you need me, I’ll be in Arizona training for the 2010 draft and living on my agent’s dime.”
As soon as a college player has a better than 50 percent shot of getting selected in the first round, he should shut it down. The aggravation isn’t worth the thrill of a college career. Bryant might be the nation’s best receiver. Had he been allowed to enter the draft after last season, he probably would have been a top 20 pick. Now, he’s spent most of this season fighting the NCAA to regain his eligibility.
If this case is only about Bryant misleading NCAA investigators, the penalty was far too harsh. Yes, Bryant made a terrible mistake by lying. Yes, he let down his family and his teammates. But how many 20-year-olds would panic in the face of an authority figure and a byzantine rulebook? Plenty. Let’s reserve the harshest punishments for the players who beat their girlfriends or settle arguments by whipping out AK-47s. If lying is the only mistake Bryant made, he has paid dearly.
The ruling is especially troubling to me, because it only pushes more players to leave school early for the pros. While, this is only a small subset, the overall message sent about the importance of an education takes a hit. When star players like Tim Tebow and Tyler Hansbrough exhaust their eligibility the media praises their example non-stop. You know what? This is a good thing! When star players like Bryant come back to school the NCAA should do all they can to welcome them back into the fold. At the very least he should be allowed to play in Oklahoma State’s Bowl Game.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Once again, the NCAA comes out looking like a gestapo organization. From Jeremy Bloom to Dez Bryant and all the other student athletes who have been done in by the NCAA, what is it going to take to get some common sense into this organization???
Obviously, the NCAA rule book is too large, too complex. Make it short and simple, that would be a good place to start.