keggerz Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 serious question, if you guys had to guess how many student athletes take money or gifts illegally?* *I am not asking because I think that should take away from this situation but just curious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 There's a phrase I'm trying to think of....it has something to do with molehills......and mountains. i bet if TimC checks his shed his Torch is missing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 (edited) I love the "well, everyone does it - at least any important athlete". Great friggin' argument. Then I guess we shouldn't ever charge gang-bangers with murder, either, huh? I mean, after all, any gang-banger who is anyone commits murder, so the crime must be okay, right? Or try going in front of a traffic court judge & try the "well, everyone speeds, Your Honor, so what I did can't be illegal" defense. If he committed fraud on USC & its fans, he ought to be held accountable - as should any other athlete who does the same thing. (yeah, yeah, yeah, I do know taking hundreds of thousands of dollars fraudulently isn't murder. But the argument is substantially the same even though the penalty isn't. So you either fine him a huge amount & force him to make restitution, as well as strip him of any honors obtained while playing under false pretenses, or you give him a little jail time with restitution & stripping of honors. You know - make the punishment fit the crime?) Edited January 25, 2007 by Bronco Billy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 I love the "well, everyone does it - at least any important athlete". Great friggin' argument. Then I guess we shouldn't ever charge gang-bangers with murder, either, huh? I mean, after all, any gang-banger who is anyone commits murder, so the crime must be okay, right? Or try going in front of a traffic court judge & try the "well, everyone speeds, Your Honor, so what I did can't be illegal" defense. If he committed fraud on USC & its fans, he ought to be held accountable - as should any other athlete who does the same thing. (yeah, yeah, yeah, I do know taking hundreds of thousands of dollars fraudulently isn't murder. But the argument is substantially the same even though the penalty isn't. So you either fine him a huge amount & force him to make restitution, as well as strip him of any honors obtained while playing under false pretenses, or you give him a little jail time with restitution & stripping of honors. You know - make the punishment fit the crime?) Your definition of fraud is technically true but it's nevertheless a tendentious argument. There are three parties involved here and two of them have done nothing to warrant punishment as far as I can see - USC and the booster. Last time I looked, giving gifts wasn't illegal. That leaves Bush. Trying to pin a fraud charge on Bush for misrepresentation is a stretch - what did he represent himself as other than an outstanding athlete? I also suspect that the "defrauded" party would have to prefer charges rather than the charges be automatically applied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Trying to pin a fraud charge on Bush for misrepresentation is a stretch - what did he represent himself as other than an outstanding athlete? How about representing himself as an eligible athlete? That's the whole basis of the scholarship - that he was eligible under NCAA rules to play football for USC - which he wasn't as soon as he took the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 deja vu How did comparisons to gang-bangers, murderers, rapists & drug dealers ever make it into this thread? I'm about to go jaywalk out in front of my building, check for me in the world news report tonight. I'll be the guy wearing the Saints cap. If he's found guilty I hope they do take his Heisman and I hope he's learned his lesson from it. It certainly seems so by the way he's conducted himself ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donutrun Jellies Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 (edited) How about representing himself as an eligible athlete? That's the whole basis of the scholarship - that he was eligible under NCAA rules to play football for USC - which he wasn't as soon as he took the money. serious question, if you guys had to guess how many student athletes take money or gifts illegally? I am not asking because I think that should take away from this situation but just curious Lets put this in perspective from an NCAA compliance standpoint. My daughter is an athlete, was recruited to play softball in college ... When she visited a DI school, their assistant coach double checked with their compliance officer to see if that coach could buy the kid a hot chocolate ... When she had a chance to volunteer as an instructor (VOLUNTEER mind you) at a clinic at a DII school after accepting admission but prior to the first day of classes, the compliance officer shut it down because it risked merely giving the appearance of an inappropriate inducement. Throughout the whole process, I've been impressed at how seriously the colleges take the rules, the integrity of the coaches, and the integrity of the players and their families. And yet, on the largest stages in the country, we have another cheating scandal. This latest report has the nation's golden boy running back squarely in the spotlight, looking more and more like a dirty little cheat for accepting more than a quarter million dollars in illegal inducements while in college ... Dang. Clearly, if it is proven, they should punish Bush, erase his ineligible career, and take away his Heisman. I guess there's nothing you can do to his freeloading, unethical mother and stepfather ... But what do you do to USC without punishing the kids who came along after Reggie who are honest and compliant? In terms of USC, how do these small schools in the frozen northeast have crackerjack coaches and compliance officers and schools like USC have nothing? USC has them but they didn't notice irregularities? They didn't notice? Dartmouth notices a possible cocoa and St. Mike's notices a possible couple hours of volunteering with gradeschoolers -- and USC misses a quarter million dollars???? That's a lot to miss! Where was the Coach and the assistants? Where was the AD and the compliance officers? We know where the parents were -- (allegedly) enjoying the money and gifts as well, so they are clearly part of the problem. I just don't see how USC missed this. Looks like it may well cost a bunch of honest teammates a national championship. That's a high price to pay to let a player and his parents enjoy bribes ... If these continued allegations do indeed prove true, it will be a dang shame that either USC will escape scott-free or some innocent athletes who came after him will get splattered with Reggie's poop as it hits the fan. Edited January 25, 2007 by Donutrun Jellies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Well played, DJ. Well played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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