The fact that Georgia running back Todd Gurley was suspended for two more games by the NCAA on Wednesday for making $3,000 off signing his own name is dumb. We've established this time and again. It appears that the NCAA might be realizing the same thing, though it's too late for that to affect Gurley.
The NCAA seems to think Todd Gurley is a criminal
The community service aspect of the Georgia star’s punishment is even sillier than the suspension.
Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
Just like any other athlete caught getting “impermissible” benefits, Gurley was going to be punished. But one part of the NCAA’s ruling was patently absurd, even by NCAA standards.
Gurley, who acknowledged violating NCAA rules, must repay a portion of the money received to a charity of his choice and complete 40 hours of community service as additional conditions for his reinstatement.
This isn’t a new concept. The NCAA has forced players to complete community service as a condition for reinstatement before, as a way to “pay back” some of the money they took without actually paying it back. But the fact that the organization seems to think community service is appropriate here is concerning.
Our Georgia blog
Our Georgia blog
Community service is a way for a person to pay back a debt to society. So if Gurley committed an actual crime — something the NCAA would likely not punish him for — then it would make sense for him to repay society with his service. But by taking $3,000 to sign his name for something he is good at, Gurley did not damage society. He has no debt to pay, other than in the world that the NCAA has created, in which we accept that someone being paid for his or her talents is wrong.
Moreover, although the NCAA continues to push the narrative that an athlete’s time is not worth money, it is implicitly acknowledging that 40 hours’ worth of Gurley’s time has a monetary value, depending on how big a “portion” he must donate in cash.
@k_trahan I like the angle of figuring out the implict hourly rate of what NCAA thinks an hour of T.G.'s time is worth.
— Andy Schwarz (@andyhre) October 29, 2014 Hopefully the NCAA and its member schools will realize the absurdity of these suspensions soon and Gurley will be the last player to be hurt by this ridiculous rule.
But in the meantime, he’ll have to repay his non-existent debt to society. He doesn’t seem to mind doing it.
Todd Gurley could do community service at Camp Sunshine (a camp for childhood cancer survivors). Oh, he already did. pic.twitter.com/PSka7Pth18
— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) October 29, 2014 See More:
