Stephen A. Smith talking sense?

Anyone reading this post will most likely know who Stephen A. Smith is - the brash screamer that covers NBA and College basketball for ESPN. For the most part, it seems like Stephen A. is generally disliked. Once you get past the yelling and some of the nonsensical babble, he actually has a very interesting perspective on certain issues. Where most sports writers view certain issues, especially those dealing with race and class, with an elitist, holier-than-thou attitude, SAS looks at these issues from the athletes or the kids perspective - when he writes, he writes from the point of view of the people involved.

Yes, there are times where he comes off sounding ignorant and flat out idiotic, and the fact that he believes volume makes him correct makes me want to slap him. But he still has a very interesting point of view. He wrote a column for espn.com looking at OJ Mayo and the money that he was given before and while attending USC.

As I wrote yesterday, I completely agree with Stephen A. here. First of all, if the rules are followed correctly, everyone in college sports is getting paid - from the coaches, to the sponsors, to the schools, to the agents, to the merchandise vendors, even the writers. Everyone EXCEPT for the people actually responsible for generating the revenue - the athletes themselves. I know that they are supposed to be compensated with a scholarship and an education, but you think an education is what they want? Does an education put cash in their pockets?

For every other profession, when you are in college you can get an internship, or something along those lines, that will pay you and help train you for your future. With sports, you can't. It's not like Darren Collison can say "I'm going back to school, but I'm interning with the LA Lakers this summer". Sure, he can go work out with them, but he's won't be making any money off of it, whereas talented summer interns for law firms and financial brokerages get paid. Why can't a college athlete make money off of their talents?

The bottom line is that these guys are going to school to be trained, educated, and prepared for their future profession - the NBA, NFL, MLB, whatever it is. It's the same for regular students. If you're a finance major, are you going to take a biology class? And if you do, are you going to really pay any attention to it? I'm not saying that these athletes should be allowed to major in basketball or that they shouldn't be educated in anything else, but sooner or later people need to realize that for some folks, sports IS THEIR JOB. It's how they are going to put food on the table. It's what is going to keep a roof over their head.

The NCAA will never be able to combat the runners for agents, because these kids are always going to be seen as a meal ticket for someone. So why not allow it? They deserve to make something off of all the revenue they create, right? What if they said that an athlete could get paid a certain amount, maybe a couple hundred a week, have them file formal tax returns, get the government involved, the whole nine yards. The problem with the current system is that once the player's leave school, the only punishment that can be handed down is the forfeiture of all that season's games (see Chris Webber or Marcus Camby). If the government gets involved and taxes need to be filed, wouldn't increase the incentive not to take extra money? You would either be caught when you filed the returns or would have to lie on them, which (believe it or not) is actually a crime.

I don't know, maybe that wouldn't do anything. It was just a thought. But my point is, does it really matter if OJ Mayo makes a few thousand off his basketball ability while still an "amateur". He's going to be making millions off it in a few months anyway.