Comment
February 10, 1997
Guest editorial -- Put some national bite in sports-agent control
BY REP. BART GORDON
United States House of Representatives
The college basketball season is now in full swing. While the players are playing their hearts out for the love of the game, corrupt sports agents are canvassing the nation's campuses for their pot of gold -- the next first-round draft pick.
I think all coaches and athletics directors are aware of last year's unfortunate situation with Marcus Camby of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the current problems with Kirk King and Ricky Moore of the University of Connecticut. The showering of gifts on amateur athletes, ranging from money to airline tickets, is ruining the integrity of college athletics and is plainly against the rules.
No one involved wants to see a repeat of the Marcus Camby situation when tournament time comes around again. We must put a stop to corrupt agents ruining the pride and integrity of amateur athletics at our nation's college campuses.
This is exactly the reason I will reintroduce the Collegiate Athletics Integrity Act: to prevent agents from influencing student-athletes and destroying the athlete's college experience just for the hope of some future gain that may never materialize.
Not a day goes by for any of us without turning on the television and seeing a big-name sports star endorsing a product or signing a million-dollar contract. The lure of big money from professional sports is corroding the integrity of amateur sports at the college level. Sports agents pursue unknowing student-athletes so that they can have a piece of that million-dollar pie. The college athlete is young and may not know the ramifications of getting involved with a sports agent while he or she is still under scholarship.
We all know what is wrong with the current situation in college athletics in America. The scenario is as follows: A sports agent approaches a college athlete with promises of lucrative contracts and fame. The agent gives the athlete gifts and money with the hope that the athlete will sign a contract with the agent. The gifts and money are in direct vio-
lation of amateur athletics rules. The school and athlete receive punishment via sanctions, and the athlete may lose eligibility. Without eligibility, the athlete has to turn pro and the agent collects his fee for representing the student. The school is punished, the student loses his chance for an education, and the agent makes a pot of gold.
Last year, I introduced H.R. 3328 in the House of Representatives with the hope of establishing uniform laws governing sports agents who solicit business from college athletes. I plan to reintroduce the bill in this upcoming Congress.
Corrupt agents seducing college athletes into accepting gifts and money have tainted the integrity of college athletics. Currently, there are no federal penalties for agents who pursue college athletes. The situation has become so bad that more than 25 states have laws outlawing agent-athlete contacts.
I believe we must make a concerted effort to bring cohesive laws and policies to this problem. A federal law would establish a standard for the entire nation, not just one state. This law will send a loud signal to corrupt agents that their past behavior no longer will be accepted. My bill puts a bite into corrupt agents.
I commend the NCAA for trying to deal with athlete-agent contact. Educating the student-athlete about the rules is a good way to stop the contact, but it is not foolproof. My bill does not dictate policy for schools regarding athlete-agent contact nor does it usurp their power in dealing with their athletes. The bill concentrates solely on corrupt sports agents to ensure that they play by the rules. I want the Marcus Camby and Connecticut situations to become a thing of the past. I want to restore integrity and pride back into college athletics.
I encourage any athletics directors or coaches who would like to suggest legislative changes or go on record in support of this effort to write me at 2201 Rayburn HOB, Washington, D.C. 20515, or call me at 202/225-4231.
Rep. Bart Gordon, a Democrat, represents the 6th District of Tennessee.
Comment -- Children need more values and less hype
BY GREG MARSHALL
Concordia University (California)
If today's kids are tomorrow's players, what are we in store for?
First, who are today's players? We constantly hear that they are "me" oriented, not very teachable and not as dedicated as earlier generations. Gone forever are the good old days when coaches told a player to jump and the player asked, "How
high?" (This is probably a good thing because my players never seem to jump quite as high as I would like.)
I love coach Bob Knight's reply to this question. He contends that kids haven't changed -- it's the parents and the world that have changed.
I believe Knight is right on the money. Young children have a wonderful innocence about them. Boys and girls still believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy. But what happens to them between the ages of 8 and 18 when they increasingly bump into the world and its values?
Here are three areas affecting our young people's development:
1) Too much too soon. I am all for youth activities, but forgive me, folks, we treat little Junior like an Olympian.
Joe, my 6-year-old, is involved for the first time in soccer. Recently, I took Joe for his team picture. Literally hundreds of boys and girls were decked out in their color-coordinated uniforms and cleats for their photo. I was told that my son could also have an individual photo taken and mounted on playing cards (12 for $15), refrigerator magnets and a mock Sports Illustrated cover.
Now, some of this is innocent, but can you see where this is headed? Youth-league teams are better equipped than many high schools! We worry about looking good and having the right gear and signing up for every league in town, but does it make better players? What message do we send our children?
Some kids are ready for competitive sports at an early age, but I truly believe they are in the minority. Can't our kids grow up a little later and with a little less pressure? Shouldn't they be learning to just enjoy the game without all the bells and whistles? Are we spending an equal amount of time with them, as parents, developing relationships and teaching values?
2) Deteriorating values. A college professor recently made the statement, "Everything is relative. There is no truth." The reply from his young student who refused to be duped into this lie was, "Is that statement true?" Indeed, if the professor is correct in his thinking, then nothing he says is necessarily true. It is just an opinion.
We must first agree that there are some fundamental, eternal truths that hold us accountable and govern our actions.
What values should we teach our children? There are many, such as honesty, hard work, trustworthiness, loyalty, morality and kindness.
If we want our children to develop these characteristics, we need a plan of action, a mission statement. We must first identify those values we hold most dear and find creative ways to communicate these important standards to live by.
3) A lack of role models. "Little by little, the look of the country changes because of the men we admire." Who are our kids' heroes today? Why does Dennis Rodman's name come up at my dinner table? Advertisers bombard us with images, but where is the substance?
The family is under attack like never before. Divorce is depriving too many children of one or both parents. Our kids constantly look for role models, but I believe most adults have given up on the concept.
The media makes it awfully tough to keep anyone of national stature on a pedestal very long, but who says a role model has to be on the cover of People magazine?
Just as we want our children to choose positive friends who are good influences (we tell our campers, "Show us your friends, we'll show you your future"), so should we as adults. And we need role models in several key areas. Find someone who is raising their children successfully. Search for the person in your profession who has achieved success without sacrificing principles and family.
Amazingly enough, some kids survive all of this and turn out just fine. But too many are free-falling. And what will their children be like?
As it says in the Book of Proverbs, "Raise up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Today's kids are tomorrow's players, but more importantly, they are our future. Our children need to be taught about virtue and values, not lauded like conquering heroes.
If the old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" is true, then the children in your circle of influence will be closely watching your life. Make each day a Rembrandt for them!
Greg Marshall is men's basketball coach at Concordia University (California).
Opinions -- Women in the NFL? Probably not, but never say never
Sally Jenkins, sportswriter
Quoted in The Minneapolis Star
"Will women ever play in the NFL? My knee-jerk response is no, but when you think about it, they don't even let women play five sets of tennis yet, so we don't know what women are capable of. We haven't had centuries of honing the more extreme possibilities of our physiques the way guys have, so when we've got a couple of centuries under our belt of aggressive, full-tilt competition, I think we'll know....
"(Women already) swim long distances faster, and there have been female jockeys for years. Ron Shelton, who wrote 'Bull Durham,' and I were talking the other day, and he pointed out that the great thing about jockeys is you don't have to be the strongest person in the world, you just have to be as strong as you can get for 115 pounds."
Worth of education
Paul Daugherty, columnist
The Cincinnati Inquirer
"I did a column once, comparing the nonpayment of basketball players at Cincinnati and Xavier to what I made as a college senior, working in the cafeteria dishroom. I estimated the hours they spent practicing, playing and traveling. I divided it into the value of their full rides.
"Guess what? Their nothing beat my hourly wage all to hell.
"But that's not the worst of all this. What's awful about the persistent whine for money is, it's saying a college education is worthless. It's suggesting that the value of learning can only be measured by the almighty buck. We're not getting paid for it; therefore, it's not worth our time.
"I'd love to find a Division I athlete who thinks playing sports is a good deal. This would be someone with the wisdom to realize what he or she gets from athletics doesn't have to be measured in coins.
"Dedication, discipline, sacrifice, perseverance. Sports can teach those.
"They're nice little life lessons.
"They make you a better person. At some point, they just might help you make more money as well.
"If that's all you care about.
"Which, hopefully, it's not."
Blacks in coaching
Clem Haskins, men's basketball coach
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
USA Today
"I don't have lottery picks. I don't have first-round draft choices. But how many times do you hear, 'Clem Haskins wins because he has great depth. He wins because he has great athletes.' That's a stigma. That's not giving a black coach his due.
"Not many people are going to take what I have and do more than what I'm doing with it."
Athlete violence
Bobby Bowden, football coach
Florida State University
The Dallas Morning News
"Is the problem worse now in college football? Yes, it's worse. Unfortunately, it's a sign of the times. It's bad enough to make me think our nation needs a moral awakening."
Bill Snyder, football coach
Kansas State University
The Dallas Morning News
"This is happening everywhere. So many of the players have a background where, when they walk out their front door at home, the only thing they see is a drug dealer or a drive-by killer or people getting shot at."
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