Reggie Bush

I have a slight problem with the allegations surrounding Reggie Bush but my issues may not be what you'd expect.

To me the NCAA rules are put into place for two main reasons:

1. To keep schools from "buying" athletes. They don't want boosters or institutions giving players money or benefits in order to play for the college.

2. To keep gambling elements away from NCAA sports to keep the integrity of the game intact.

Even if what is alleged is true - neither of these imperatives has been violated. The benefits did not entice Bush to play at USC and the benefits did affect his play on the field. I don't think this is a big deal.

Think about it - when colleges are recruiting high school players they as a matter of course bring the players and their parents to the campus and put them up at a hotel. The university regularly puts on a fine feedbag at top restaurants for the players with promises of free tuition plus free room and board (market value well above what Bush is alleged to have received). If it is a successful program then the university reaps the benefits of multi-million dollar pay days.

If the player is good enough then it is not unheard of for the university to find the mom or dad a nice paying job so that they can be close to junior. (You are naive beyond belief if you don't think this happens.)

What is alleged against Bush for the most part are not even allegations dealing with Bush's behavior. Most of the allegations have to do with Bush's parents or family. Is the NCAA saying that players have to responsible for the behavior of their parents and siblings too? Is the team supposed to put private detectives out to watch family members to insure no rules are broached? The idea is both just silly and repugnant (in other words - par for the course for the NCAA).

So Bush's step-dad and brothers got new threads for the Heisman presentation. Big fucking deal. It's like a guy who wants a girl to like him so he buys the girl's mom flowers. Except to follow through with the Bush analogy - the girl gets called a slut and has her name dragged through the mud because the mom accepted the flowers.