A Baton Rouge courtroom just dropped a bombshell, allowing tight end Dae’Quan Wright to jump ship from Cleveland Browns training camp straight onto LSU’s roster. Seriously, how did the NCAA not see this train wreck coming from a mile away? This whole mess is like a giant ship smashing into an iceberg on a perfectly sunny day, and everyone’s looking around wondering who gets blamed.
The NCAA, naturally, gets a huge slice of this blame pie. They changed the rules this year, giving athletes five years of eligibility, but then they carved out the 2022 recruiting class from getting an extra year of that sweet NIL money. What did they expect? They practically guaranteed they’d get sued and lose. It’s almost predictable at this point, right? And then there’s the judge, just like so many others across the country, who got dragged into a legally murky case with pretty low stakes and, surprise, went with the outcome that benefited the local scene. Don’t forget the lawyers who are probably already picking out their new vacation homes thanks to every NCAA decision that hits the courts. All these insane situations have somehow conspired to put college sports in a totally bizarre spot: there are legit players in NFL training camps right now who could actually make more money by getting cut and heading back to college. Wild, isn’t it?
But you know who deserves way more blame than anyone else? The people who literally cannot bring themselves to say one simple word: No. LSU coach Lane Kiffin spilled the beans to reporters, saying, “Because of the rulings, they are going to play for you or play somewhere else around the country.” He added, “So [we] made the decision to recruit them probably like most people are.” Look, that quote should be plastered on the side of NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis. When your whole mission statement can no longer be about helping people go pro in something *other* than sports, then “They are going to play for you or someone else” at least gets points for being honest. Kiffin, his crew at LSU, and every other coach out there scouring the NFL waiver wire for help right before the college season kicks off could end this whole farce. They just need to do absolutely nothing.
Instead, many coaches and administrators, especially those at LSU who seem totally shame-free, are just keeping up the grand tradition of college sports. It’s the classic move: the mere threat of your rivals doing something sketchy completely justifies being the first to jump into the ethical deep end yourself. College athletics has so many genuinely tough problems to solve. But what we’ve seen in stark relief over the last year, especially with the SEC and Big Ten fumbling around trying to get Congress on board with national regulations they’ve been begging for, is their collective action problem. It’s the one thing they can never, ever solve. Who is actually willing to give up a perceived advantage just to do what’s right for the sport? Until that changes, this mess isn’t going anywhere.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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