As we grapple with the evils of money and college sports, we might want to remember Jodie Foster. The actress, who enrolled at Yale University when she was 17, had already been nominated for an Oscar, been paid for many Disney movies, and even hosted "Saturday Night Live."
At Yale, she studied drama, and in her freshman year, she appeared in a school theater production. Then during her summer break, she went off to make another movie.
And guess what? No one got fired or investigated. No one declared she would never act in a school play again.
So why is college sports so different? Why is it that if a basketball player lets an agent buy him lunch, he has violated rules and put his program in hot water? Why can't a college quarterback make his own milk commercial?
Why is it OK for a college flute player, on a music scholarship, to play in the school band, then get paid for a nightclub gig _ but if "student-athletes" take money for playing five minutes somewhere, they've sacrificed their college eligibility forever?
The answer lies in the NCAA and its antiquated yet profitable adherence to amateurism. But given the insanity over a recent FBI probe that suggests major NCAA violations by many well-known schools (and why the FBI is wasting taxpayer money on these mostly non-criminal activities is beyond me), perhaps we should rethink the idea of amateurism and college sports.
Especially since it's been dead for years.
