Oklahoma says agents should be punished, not schools
With the NCAA Amateurism Cabinet announcing that they are considering a revision of the rules that limit how an agent and an athlete may interact, coaches and athletic staffs across the country are making their concerns known.
Many have already voiced the opinions both for and against the idea: Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim was concise in his remarks, saying that “it’s about as bad an idea he can think of” while Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said that with the right regulations, agents could prove to be a positive resource for athletes looking to make the best decision regarding their futures.
Now Oklahoma has gotten itself in to the mix saying that regardless of what the NCAA decides to do, it should be the agents who are punished for eligibility violations, not the schools.
"We all educate (players) over and over,” said Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops at a fan event on Thursday. “We all do. But in the end if two people, an agent and a person, decide to do something on their own, they knowingly are breaking the rules (…) Until you penalize the agent and the individual, nothing's going to change."
Stoops remarks were prompted by an earlier press conference involving men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel, whose program is under investigation by the NCAA for violating their agent policies.
“It's an epidemic,” said Capel of agent interference. “It's something that the NCAA is, I think, trying to get their hands around but it's really, really hard for us and it starts happening on the grassroots [level]. It's not when they get here. These things start happening when these kids are in ninth and 10th grade because they've identified who they think could be possibly the next big thing."
Capel’s forward Keith “Tiny” Gallon –recently drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks - is the center of the investigation after claiming that his mother accepted a monetary gift from a financial advisor to have his transcripts released from his high school in order to play for the Sooners.
At the heart of the Oklahoma coaching staffs concerns are that as schools they are unable to police agent-athlete interaction if it is coming prior to the athlete attending their program, yet the NCAA still holds them accountable for violations.
"There's things they can do, and they need to start penalizing the individuals that are involved, not the schools," said Stoops. "The schools have nothing to do with it."
"Our sport is so different and so unique because guys can leave after one year, so there's so many influences on these guys," added Capel. "When I was down in San Antonio with the USA basketball team, with the under-18 team, sitting in the stands during those games were agents, financial people.”
Oklahoma athletics director Jim Castiglione agrees with his coaches but says it will take more than just one organization to put an end to agent violations.
"There's not one single group that can control it by themselves," said Castiglione, who has also suggested that doing away with athletes only having to play one college season before making the jump to the NBA may alleviate some of the problems. "The situation has to develop where all of the governing bodies of the various sports come together and create a rule that can be enforced."
Stoops seems less than optimistic that can happen.
“I'm not a basketball coach, but the NBA is not supporting NCAA basketball,” said Stoops.
"They're saying that one of the reasons the NCAA is talking about it is because they can't control it, because it is the NBA Players Association that controls it," said Capel, who added that if the NCAA thinks allowing players to have agents is the answer, they are wrong.
"I think that would be the absolute worst thing that you could do.”
The NCAA has yet to make any type of decision regarding their agent-athlete policies, only announcing that they are weighing their options.
"This is on our radar screen and we're in the information-gathering stage," said Amateurism Cabinet Chair Mike Rogers. "One of our overriding concerns is getting accurate and non-biased information to get meaningful decisions. We're going to be wide open to suggestions."
Well Mr. Rogers, I think Oklahoma has a few.
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