By Victor Allison/reporter
Recently, the NCAA made a rule that says only certified agents with bachelor’s degrees can work with college basketball players, and almost just as quickly as it was adopted, it was dropped.
Leaving many to wonder why the NCAA would announce the installment of a new rule to allegedly “protect” college athletes from bad, uneducated advice, then wipe it clear from its books within a week.
Critics like Lebron James said the rule was made by the NCAA to prevent a coup d’état of the sports agency world from Rich Paul.
Coincidentally, Rich Paul is the only agent on the top ten list without a degree. He’s the only black one too.
There were also charges of racism and elitism being sounded from the sports ether.
It’s not clear exactly why the NCAA backpedaled on the rule, but the claim that someone with a bachelor’s degree is more qualified to handle negotiations than someone without one is pure horse manure.
Proponents said the new rule was a crackdown on predators. Those family members who use their prospect sons or nephews as a bargaining chip to enrich their own pockets, but end up demanding too much in negotiations and leave nothing behind but a trail of disgruntled black boys.
Prior to Rich Paul, the only NBA agents who had mega success were the white guys who went the traditional route and had the prototypical agent outfit: greasy hair, sleazy Armani suits and a lot of slick talk.
That’s who the NCAA is OK with representing college athletes, because they all have degrees.
The NCAA has never looked out for the best interest of players, only the best interest of the NCAA.
Black men like Rich Paul are upsetting the power balance in the sports world. And because they look like the players they represent, the player’s voice is finally being heard too.
Paul is the first, in recent memory, to make his come up without the suit, without the prototypical veneer.
But he won’t be the last.
