Before Reggie-Gate emerged over the weekend, USC tailback Reggie Bush gave an interview to ESPN.com about paying collegiate athletes. The timing of the comments are priceless. Because we're simply not above kicking 'em while they're down, let's have some fun with this.
The full article can be found on ESPN.com here.
That's a little disingenuous, now isn't it, Reggie? There are other options, no? I mean, it's not as though there aren't boosters out there willing to just -give- you a house anyway, right? Rent! Ha! Talk about a dated concept.
Alas, in changing clothes back to something more serious and sensible, the truth is that we don't know enough right now to draw many conclusions, but Reggie's comments regarding the paying of college athletes do deserve commentary. As the collegiate athletics business continues to boom, it's not a stretch to say that many of these athletes are, to a large extent, being exploited. While paying athletes professional-level salaries is absurd, there ought to be a larger stipend for the players that bring in the big bucks to the university coffers. There's no easy solution, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be thinking about it.
--PB--