While she only outlined the commission's findings as it related to basketball, she echoed the ideas promulgated by the NCAA, such as HARSHER penalties on any and all violations of amateurism statutes. The former Stanford professor also went so far as to say playing in the NCAA should not be "undervalued or underestimated."
I don't care about basketball, college or professional. The appeal of the same action occurring again and again and again and again for that much time simply doesn't entrance me the way that it does many other people. (I do love to play to basketball.) However, I do care about wrestling and have at least a passing interest in what it means to be part of a sports culture that profits off the amateurism of young, mostly minority, athletes.
Wrestling doesn't have this exact problem at the moment but has seen a variation with the consequences of college student Kyle Snyder winning a world and then Olympic gold medal while still in college.
Due to current NCAA athletic eligibility requirements Snyder was unable to capitalize on what some have estimated to be upwards of $500,000 in potential sponsorship opportunities. Snyder's decision was made (in part) to support his teammates at Ohio State, but also to receive his degree.
Snyder was forced into that decision by the NCAA's rules against athletes accepting money for their image. While there is plenty of talk of what it would mean to directly pay athletes to play NCAA sports -- and while salaried workers should be discussed as the central issue for NCAA schools -- it's allowing players to earn money from sponsors that has the NCAA on edge.
Why?
If college athletes were permitted to sign sponsorship deals, universities would see an immediate and massive decrease in sponsorship dollars for their programs. Starting a few years ago brands realized they got more traction in sponsoring athletes with direct reach to their fans (those who buy stuff) than they did in funding the associations that sponsored their sport.
Professional sports teams suffered a little, but international sports federations like FIFA were quick to see massive reductions in sponsorship dollars since brands were going straight to the cow. Some, like wrestling, are combating that loss with improved social media outreach, but many federations too slow to adapt are losing dollars to their athletes.
The NCAA knows that sponsor loss would reduce the amount of money being pulled in by member institutions. In no way would that affect the play on the field, but it would reduce services to athletes. That's not an altruistic position by the NCAA, those are well-paying, cushy, mostly bureaucratic jobs on college campuses. Should the ASICS money disappear it would be these deep state-like employees first out the door.
Athletes should be paid. Consequences come as they must, restricting the earning potential of an adult based on outdated norms is more akin to indentured servitude than it is to any ideals of a free market.
To your questions ...
Jordan Oliver won a U.S. Open title last year (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: Jordan Oliver's suspension is up April 29, which is obviously after the U.S. Open. Can JO get some sort of wild card to compete in the World Team Trials? Should he be able to compete?
-- Mike C.
Foley: As I understand it Oliver's positive test was always more about a paperwork flub than intentional disobedience of the anti-doping regulations. With that in mind I think it would be a little silly to keep him off the mats for the discrepancy of what would be two days. However those are the rules. Uncool, but the rules.
Time off is a strange thing. While it might imply rust, it can also open new perspectives and give wrestlers time to work on new techniques and strategies. I can't wait to see how the time off from competition has affected Oliver.
Q: Do you think that, with the right backing, that college wrestling could get to be as big as college basketball?
-- @ChurroSolider
Foley: No. Too complicated and no team aspect.
Wrestling can be a more popular sport, but American folkstyle can only grow so much. Any popularized version would need to be consumable for the masses.
Q: What potential U.S. Open matchup in men's freestyle are you most excited about?
-- Mike C.
Kyle Dake has multiple wins over Alex Dieringer, including one at last year's Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Foley: Kyle Dake has been exceptional this year. He's healthy, aggressive on his feet and entertaining fans around the globe with monster lifts. His matchup with Alex Dieringer is compelling because unlike the Azerbaijani or Japanese opponents Dake has faced, Dieringer knows Dake's strategy and has competed against him on the stage. I'm favoring Dake, but the matchup intrigues me because I'd love to see where Dieringer is at in his development, but also how Dake adapts to a wrestler who knows some of his core strengths. This will be a real time chess match.
The 61-kilogram and 65-kilogram weight classes will be must watch. I don't think they have Team USA's top talent, but it does include all the best competitors at those weights (save Kendric Maple and Zain Retherford). For the USA to contend for the 2018 World Championship in Budapest they'll need to see more productivity out of these weights.
I'm a believer in what Logan Stieber can do at 65 kilograms, so I'll be keeping an eye on his progress throughout the tournament.
Q: Any rumblings on the head coaching openings in Division I? Edinboro? Cleveland State? Arkansas Little Rock?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Cleveland State would be best served to keep Josh Moore as the head coach. Should they have the right package and support I think that his leadership would translate to an energized program. Also, Moore's already on staff and the startup energy for the administration would be significantly reduced given his knowledge of the institution. That said, David Bolyard is also in search of work and would be a strong candidate.
For Edinboro it could be any number of candidates. Missouri assistant coach Alex Clemsen would be a natural fit given his extensive resume and attachment to the school, but I've heard he's not interested in this move. Alumni A.J. Schopp (Purdue) and Matt Hill (Kent State) are top contenders given their recent stints. Again, Josh Moore would be in the running, but that could make family dinner a little difficult given that Scott is at Lock Haven.
Little Rock … not a clue, but I think that it'll take an applicant with patience and the type of CEO mindset we know wrestling now needs.
Q: What's your opinion on the NAIA recognizing women's wrestling as an official sport? It also seems like the NAIA in general adds wrestling teams each year in states where wrestling may be growing i.e. Georgia, Florida, and California, how do you see the addition of teams this affecting the growth of wrestling at the high school level in particular the states mentioned?
-- Marcus R.
Foley: If the NAIA can complete the emerging sport status I think that the recent growth could kickstart similar moves by more Division I programs.
The growth at the smaller schools has a lot to do with increasing enrollment and in places with a lot of competition for bodies these niche programs are a good way to draw in paying students.
Q: Coach Kevin Roberts was fired by Oregon State last August after a situation with a former Oregon State wrestler. After reading the Portland Tribune story, it seems to be that Roberts may have gotten a raw deal. Obviously, there are two sides to the story. What are your thoughts?
-- Mike C.
Foley: The article is long, but I think it does a decent job of fleshing out the conflict between athlete and coach. From my reading between the lines (and the actual lines) it would seem that the wrestler had a well-documented temper and was sensitive to ethnic-based jokes that others in his community thought nascent. I'm of a zero tolerance mindset when it comes to teasing ethnic minorities, but that also doesn't excuse any and all retaliatory behavior when slighted.
All that aside, the coach obviously crossed a few lines in the eyes of the athlete. That's not to say he's racist or said racist things, but it's believable that he might have uttered something that was less than culturally correct. Given the tenuous and combustible nature of the relationship with the athlete the normal corrective measures (meeting, course-taking) were outpaced by emotion on all three sides: athlete, coach and athletic department.
The other thing to remember when judging college hires and fires is that the administration almost always falls on the side of least resistance. These are very political jobs and the athletic directors will do whatever is necessary to reduce their risk of exposure to scandal. If the Roberts case was brewing into some type of back-and-forth he-said-he-said cultural complaint, it's easy to see why Oregon State leadership shooed it away as efficiently as possible.
What's the story behind Martin Floreani being forced out of FloSports?
-- Scott M.
Foley: Investor concerns? Ongoing lawsuit? Unclear since there have been no detailed public comments, but this article does bring some of the recent court proceedings into focus.
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