Siege of Troy
It's a happy time for a lot of Bruin fans, as it's looking like USC is going to get some comeuppance for violations of NCAA rules, specifically when it comes to Reggie Bush. I wouldn't mind seeing USC get some sanctions, because lessened scholarships would likely drive some top prospects towards Westwood, but I find it hard to get morally indignant over these types of issues. To me, there is nothing morally wrong with college athletes who will be pro athletes getting money before they sign their inevitable huge deals. This doesn't violate any moral philosophy of mine, and it seems to me perfectly acceptable. What it does violate is NCAA rules, which are in place in my mind more to ensure higher profits for NCAA schools than to actually preserve "amateurism" or any other stated purpose. So while I've never been a huge *fan* of Reggie Bush (although he's obviously an awesome athlete), I don't think any less of him. I don't blame the school too harshly either, because they didn't play as active of a role, but I blame them more than Bush. After all, the rules on a school by school basis preserve a level playing field. It's not fair to turn your head to what you know are violations when you know that gives you an unfair advantage over other schools. Again, not a big moral concern to me, but just an issue of fairness. If USC was complicit in the payments to Bush, they should be punished out of fairness concerns, but I can't condemn USC too harshly for it.
posted by Todd Martin at 10:05 AM
1 Comments:
This is something that I'm kind of torn on, as I was debating this a little with a buddy of mine.
I was saying how I'm not sure whether he should have the Heisman taken away, since it's only coming out now, not when he was playing. My friend compared it to a guy who it's discovered murdered someone well after the fact, and not having to serve jail time or be put to death, which obviously is a completely unfair comparison.
I dunno...on the one hand, if all is true, then Bush did break the rules, and from that perspective he should probably lose the Heisman. At the same time though, like you said, it's not really something that's morally wrong or anything...
I kind of feel like it's a case where if the NCAA had done it's due diligence, and found out about this while Bush were still in school, then he's SOL. But since it's a little late, what's done is done. The fact remains he was still the best college football player in the nation last year...
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