The Miami Hurricanes have a scandal on their hands; many of you might have heard about it. I just heard about it on CNN. Something their news reader said jumped out at me and I had to post it and ask what you thought:A big booster of theirs had apparently offered players on the Hurricanes things like cars, cash, rides on his yacht and pricey evenings out on the town. They were also given "bounty money to injure players"! As the CNN news reader said, "Nevin Shapiro offered bounty money to injure players and, "what's WORSE....Prostitutes were offered to the players"
I thought to myself "prostitutes given as bribes to young guys" is "WORSE" than giving them money to injure other players, perhaps injuring their bodies permanently and, thereby, their whole futures?
Which seems worse to YOU.........prostitutes or injuring others? I'd like to know..........thanks!
z
27 comments:
Z, the question has several sides. The price? Thirty pieces of silver? A prostitute? How cheaply we sell ourselves, eh?
Ultimately, however, the price is not what's important. Ahimsa is the Hindu concept that springs to mind. Respect all living things, and do no harm to them. That said, this story does not surprise me, nor I believe, will it surprise anyone in today's American culture.
~ Will
To answer your question, Z, offering a bounty to a player to injure his opponent is far worse than offering him prostitutes.
But badwolf's last sentence stole my thunder. I wish I could say this was a shocking story. But we're talking about college football in 2011.
College footbal AND basketball should have a minor leagues to avoid all this.
Well that's what happens when the head of your "booster club" gets put in on a 20 year bit and you don't return his calls.
He rats you out.
Wonder if the completely corrupt NCAA will dare give a major ACC school the death penalty.
it appears that the prostitutes were somehow tied in with the bribes - or maybe i'm not understanding the story i read, properly. bribery is bribery regardless of whether it's silver or flesh - it's all bad. horrendous even. payment to cause injury to another is beyond the pale.
i'm with you z.
Sort of an old problem; Roman
law placed gladiators and prostitues in the same classification. As Badwolf79
notes, both sold themselves,
the first to hurt opponents
(like the Miami players) the second to make a buck (like the
'ladies' servicing the Miami
players. Couple thousand years now and we still buy it....
I agree with Net. Accepting a prostitute may compromise one's own morality, but that hurts he who accepts it.
Accepting a bribe to injure another, is much worse and I see that as a serious crime.
The injured player is an innocent victim and faces the risk of ruining his future, which he has no control over.
Will, "do no harm".... imagine TEACHING and PAYING students to HURT OTHERS?
net, I couldn't agree with you more. FAR worse than prostitutes.
What do you mean about 'minor leagues' helping avoid this...isn't high school football kind of that 'minor league'? :-) I'm curious what you mean..thanks!
Sue, this has absolutely nothing to do with sports except it happened 'around sports'...this is about people thinking it's wise to teach kids to hurt kids, don't you think?
Heidiann...yes, they're tied in with bribes; my point is that the CNN reader thought prostitutes being offered was WORSE than bribing a kid to hurt others physically. Talk about unsportsmanlike in every aspect of that word, NOT just 'sports'..
BBd....I had that thought, too,....prostitution is harmful to the woman, isn't it.
Still, I think CNN's take STANK
Pris, glad you agree with my point...and net's...it's unconscionable to think someone would PAY a kid to HURT a kid.
Prostitution? Bad, but 'big woop'..their girlfriends act like prostitutes, too, so many of them.....so that didn't seem such a big deal to me. As if offering prostitutes is something new? :-)
Truth is Z, this is nothing new. I am a college football and basketball fan from way back.
Bottom line is this has been happening in one form or another for decades. We are just hearing about it now because it has become news.
These kids are pieces of meat to a lot of the coaches, boosters, school officials, etc.
What about the "legal" and accepted practices of a kid having a career ending injury playing for a school and being kicked of scholarship? Or the SEC conference's practice of promising more than the allowable number of kids a scholarship and then dropping some of them (after they passed up a scholarship at another school)?
There are the schools pushing kids to play injured when they know they could suffer another, more serious and potentially career/life altering injury.
I love to watch college sports but big time college athletics is a cesspool.
I think both are unconscionable, but I believe paying a bonus to hurt other players is worse.
Shalala is as asleep at the wheel in this job as she was in during the Clinton administration.
Z,
My point is football and basketball should have a minor league like baseball, so these players can skip the charade of "student athelete" in favor of "semi-pro".
If they could get paid legally and above board, perhaps they wouldn't be as tempted to do shady deals with shady people.
basketball does have such an animal, net; so does hockey - i'm not a big fan of football, so i'm not sure about that...
"Prostitution? Bad, but 'big woop'..their girlfriends act like prostitutes, too, so many of them.....so that didn't seem such a big deal to me. As if offering prostitutes is something new? :-)"
Z, absolutely, this is nothing new. It's not surprising at all.
"So you don't think the pro players aren't paid to do the same? With 350 lb linebackers to face?"
Imp, yes they are, but if they pay a kid enough, it doesn't have to happen on the field does it?
On the field there are rules, but in an alley somewhere, anything goes, doesn't it?
"Prostitutes were offered to the players"
That's preposterous! The amateurs in South Florida are perfectly capable of handling the situation.
Sue, actually, this is about ETHICS and it happens to concern sports.
NET...SO, play along with me here: Are you saying these college aged kids shouldn't play for their school and should just go into a minor league???
Bob..EXCELLENT point!
Z - My point exactly.
It's about sports, and often the ethics in sports are questionable.
See what I mean?
Hoochie Momma's are a dime a dozen around U of Miami so no need to bring in hookers. Nobody in their right mind buys a cow when the milk is free. I think the prostitute story was just thrown in to get the Southern Baptist all shook up. LOL
From a morality point of view, prostitution is worse. From the NCAA point of view the bounties should be worse.
no wonder I only follow HOCKEY!!
knew that this 'stuff' has been going on in the other sports for a long time--
college level to the pros...
Carol-CS
Sue, never mind. This is about ETHICS and, no, I don't agree with you, but that's fine.
Of course it's about sports...my BLOG POINT IS ETHICS....
Trestin; So you think girls selling themselves to one more guy is worse than the lack of morality displayed when young men are being PAID TO HURT SOMEONE? WOW! ??
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