Hypocrisy and Inconsistancy

Good afternoon class, today the letter is 'H', which in these past two years has stood for "hypocrisy". It kind of stinks when there are so many examples of hypocrisy in sports. I used to think that hypocrisy was reserved for politicians and parents who use the "do as I say and not as I do" method of parenting. However, to find true hypocrisy and inconsistancy in sports no one needs to go much further than the NFL, or even our great university, THE Ohio State University.

The first example that comes to my mind is one with legal implications. Think of Michael Vick. Scorned and hated for being the head of one of the largest dogfighting rings in recent history (the man had merchandise and everything for the ring, "Bad Newz Kennels"). He disgusted all of us and was imprisoned for two years (people still debate if this sentence was too harsh or lenient) and was made an example. Not a person in the country didn't know who about Mike Vick.

Then came along Plaxico Burress and Donte Stallworth. Many people know of Burress, who was in a Manhattan nightclub when he shot himself with his own registered gun (which he had a license to carry as a concealed weapon) and was sent to jail for two years. So the man that had every right to carry this gun goes to jail for the same amount of time as the guy who was a professional dog killer. Okay, interesting... Oh, but it gets better!

Stallworth, also an NFL player, was driving drunk one night during the offseason when he struck and killed a pedestrian. His jail time? One month (30 days). So the dude that killed a man gets less time than the dog killer and the guy that shot himself? Those rulings were about as consistant as a pile of quick sand. I don't care how many dogs Vick killed, it doesn't amount to the worth of a human life. I think the jail time should reflect that. The fact that Burress was locked up for accidently shooting himself with a gun he is legally allowed to carry continues to perplex me.

Then we have our beloved university. Terrelle Pryor, DeVier Posey, Boom Herron, Mike Adams, Solomon Thomas and Jordan Whiting were suspended for selling their jerseys, championship rings and other memorabilia.

So if you didn't know, the NCAA and our university makes a lot of money off of college football. Our university makes so much, that it has extra money which funds every other sport and still has leftover money for stuff like the library and other things. No other university makes nearly enough money to be a completely self-sustained athletic department except for the university of Texas. This means that at every other school, sports not named football or basketball (which have all the major TV network contracts like ESPN or CBS or FOX) are essencially deficits to maintain, which is why you hear about those schools cutting sports.

The point is, millions upon millions are made off of college football. Ticket prices, TV contracts and merchandise. Other than the $200,000 estimated worth of a full-ride scholarship and the 15 minutes of fame players are afforded, they can make no real money off of their own name (ever wonder why they sell number 2 jerseys without Pryor's name on the back?). That goes for after the players graduate as well. So the NCAA which makes millions off of players' jerseys and ball games suspend players for trying to do the same. I do believe the claim that players made saying they sold their memorabilia and likeness to help their families. Also, if the players don't make it to the NFL (which very few do) they never make money off of their own likeness while the NCAA continues to make money (they still sell Florida number 15 jerseys down in Tampa, Florida). In the real world, making money off of someone's likeness without their approval or atleast a small royalty is called copyright infingement. Of course, the NCAA makes sure that it's legally protected when a player signs with a university so that the player can't make the money that is essencially owed to them. In the meantime, these players are literally killing themselves for all of America's enjoyment (think I'm exaggerating, look up the ramifications to the body done by years of playing football, it's like getting into a million car crashes) while the people making the real money off of the players are old guys in suits who likely never played the game (the people who run the NCAA). Now tell me, who's wrong: the players or the NCAA?