I hate to say this but how are (agents) any better than a pimp?"Alabama coach Nick Saban
HOOVER, Ala. - SEC football media days have been beset with sideshow distractions before.
Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer once had a subpoena dropped on him, prompting a press-conference response that sounded something like "what subpoena?"
Nick Saban's dog ran loose in the Wynfrey Hotel when Saban was the head coach at LSU. He owned up to the wayward-canine incident by saying, "It's my wife's dog."
And just last year, every coach in the league was subjected to a media interrogation after it was revealed that Florida quarterback Tim Tebow wasn't a unanimous selection on the coaches All-SEC team. Finally, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier confessed and apologized for such sacrilege, claiming that a publicist had voted in his place.
But none of that compares to the agent brouhaha that dominated Wednesday's media-day question-and-answer session in which Saban provided the knockout sound bite: "I hate to say this but how are (agents) any better than a pimp?"
He wasn't speaking of all agents - least of all Jimmy Sexton, whose negotiating skills have made Saban so rich he can afford a full-time babysitter for his wife's dog.
"There's a lot of good agents out there that don't do this stuff," Saban said.
"This stuff" already has threatened the college eligibility of a couple of prominent SEC players, South Carolina's Weslye Saunders and Alabama defensive star Marcell Dareus.
At the same time Saban was raging at the lectern about rogue agents, the Tuscaloosa News was reporting on its website that Alabama had declared Dareus ineligible, and - in the same declaration - announced it was appealing to the NCAA for his eligibility.
It was that kind of day, one of which SEC commissioner Mike Slive would just as soon have skipped. No wonder, he didn't make his usual appearance on radio row at the opening of media days. He was hired nine years ago with the mandate to clean up a league, whose success on the field had been tainted by a succession of run-ins with the NCAA.
In his opening address to the media, Slive called for a different agent strategy at the national level, noting that an NCAA committee had been established for that intent. Moments later, Saban reiterated his earlier threats to be less hospitable to pro scouts if the NFL didn't take a more active role in punishing unscrupulous agents.
Excuse my skepticism, but neither forming a committee nor taking up a welcome mat for the pros will sweep outlaw agents from the college landscape. They're as much a part of the game as illicit recruiters.
In fact, a cynic could argue that agents aren't much different from coaches. Both make huge amounts of money off the labors of young athletes. Both might stretch the truth if it will help them land a big-time recruit. And both have been known to break a rule or two in the process.
The agent threat is nothing new. What's new is the NCAA suddenly busting offending players.
Don't give its investigative branch too much credit. This is more about self-incrimination. (North Carolina's Marvin Austin, a prime subject in the NCAA's investigation, gleefully tweeted about a trip to Miami.)
You want to reduce the risk of players losing their eligibility? Then forbid them from using Twitter or Facebook.
You can't keep players from taking money, gifts or expense-paid trips from agents. But maybe you can prevent them from bragging about it in a public forum.
John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 21
skip22 writes:
Pimps...that is awesome
AtLeastMyTeamHasPerfectSeasons writes:
UH OH! Georgia's next!
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootb...
VolsINFan writes:
This is one of the few things out of Coach Saban's mouth that I have ever agreed with.
Go Vols!
Huttdawg100 writes:
Pimpin' ain't easy, but it sho' is fun!
Smooth_as_Eggs writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Volunatic writes:
I'd call this article a poor effort, at best.
AllforTenn writes:
Because old Chuck is long gone. But that is a clever limerick.
CCLC writes:
UGA's next and Richt is on the hot seat. "Nothing too see here...move along."
AJ's the easy target given his future draft status. But that doesn't mean the kid traded in time on his family's farm in the low country to pretend he's the fresh prince of the ocean air. He was home memorial day in SC with family. I think it was D Pollack at 790 that tweeted the first of that rumor of Miami ..... and now NCAA shows up. Football season just can't get here soon enough.
VOLinATL writes:
Every school...every conference. Frankly, it's all getting tiresome.
richvol writes:
College football has become such a huge money industry that this problem will get worse very rapidly unless the NCAA,the NFL and the conference powers act immediately. Money corrupts everything and there is no exception for college football.
If an agent's actions cause a college player to lose eligibility then his license should be rescinded period...not for just a year. There's no other way to put a stop to this unless the penalty is severe.
CCLC writes:
"what possible motivation can the NFL or NFLPA have in cleaning things up? The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business at the height of its profitability, image, influence and power. Agents or no agents, it has a regular stream of highly-trained new employees pumped through the pipeline each year." CBS Sports.com
chrisforliberty#209518 writes:
This picture reminds me of Richard Nixon when he was leaving the White House for the final time.
gnm53108 writes:
It does remind one of the "I'm not a crook" pose.
VOLliven2it writes:
The agents should pay a price for their shady dealing BUT...no matter what argument we use, the players are told the rules. Some perhaps almost have them stamped on their foreheads. They have the capacity to say "No" and not get involved in these affairs. Anyone who goes to an agent sponsored party or event should know that both he and his university can be held responsible for such action. It is the athlete's choice to do the right thing. Here is what gets me about the ones enroute to the NFL; the benefits and good life will come in time. Abide by the rules. Personally, I think the rules and the NCAA's approach, inequitable dealing with matters, it's all ridiculous but until the rules change, why can't we teach young men some honor? Oh, I forgot, honor gets thrown out the window when high levels of money are involved. That is sad, sad indeed!
KevDVol writes:
I believe Saban's most correct definition of agents should actually be "rival pimps". Coaches(pimps) recruit the pros-pects to their "stable" hoping to make money off their services. Because the coaches worked hard in recruiting these pros-pects, they don't want rival pimps(agents) coming in and stealing pros-pects before the coaches have finished using them up.
hikerdude writes:
If the agents are pimps, what are the players that they represent?
vol4gzus writes:
Gladys Knight and the....ooopss! that was the Pips...Go back to Hullabaloo and Shindig to see them oldies via youtube.
On topic, I find it humorous that the pot is calling the kettle black here. Saint Nicky and others have sometimes promised the moon,nfl stardom etc to get that National Letter signed. So he is upset at someone else doing it a different way huh? Food for thot and no charge for that 'blue plate special'.
pomp_and_circumstance writes:
"...prevent them from bragging about it in a public forum..."
John, John, John! Twitter, Facebook and the 200 other space outlets comprise MEDIA! You, of all people, condemn MEDIA and any expression in it?
Ralph_Crampton writes:
The fans who talk about character and earning a college degree should stop this nonsense talk. This is about big TV and millions..college players for the most part are using college football and basketball as a stepping stone to the pros. Let us stop kidding ourselves. Most of us would do the same thing if we could...Greed is just a part of being a human being.
budd#207344 writes:
It may be nonsense to you but since the vast (95+%) majority of college athletes never go pro it isn't to them. They are using these scholarships to get an education and improve their lives.
pickinhick writes:
I think John meant not to comment in a public forum unless it is through HIS public forum. You think John would have turned this down as an article? No way!
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.