The NCAA will no longer require a bachelor's degree for agents representing players who want to consider the NBA draft but keep their collegiate eligibility. In other words, the Rich Paul Rule is dead after a week of existence.
Paul, the agent for LeBron James and other NBA stars, wrote on Monday morning that the NCAA's degree requirement was "preventing young people from less prestigious backgrounds, and often people of color, from working in the system they continue to control."
In its Monday afternoon announcement, the NCAA took pains to point out that "specific individuals were not considered when developing our process." But it's hard to see the specific changes from today as anything but the consideration of one specific individual who does not have a bachelor's degree.
Just hours before the NCAA announcement, Paul wrote that "I actually support requiring three years of experience before representing a kid testing the market."
And guess what? The requirement to be NBA Players Association-certified for three years is still in place, and will still lock out family members from representing players. It's hard to come up with an embarrassing and catchy shorthand for that, though.
