Here is an image that was posted on twitter earlier today by ESPN’s National College Football reporter Joe Schad. This image was taken by an Autograph Broker who stated that Texas A&M’s Quarterback Johnny Manziel signed autographs the night before playing the University of Alabama last season. Manziel is currently under investigation by the NCAA on whether or not he was paid for signing hundreds of autographs on photos and sports memorabilia. A PAY-FOR-SIGN situation in collegiate sports is prohibited.
ESPN’s Darren Rovell and Justine Gunbar stated that if the NCAA investigation finds that Manziel has violated NCAA Bylaw 12.5.2.1 — accepting money for promoting or advertising the commercial sale of a product or service — he could be ruled ineligible. This is a HORRIBLE off the field decision that Manziel has made and he has been prone to draw negative attention towards his personal actions.
Now let’s be clear, the only reason why this is frowned upon is because there is a rule against it. Some college football fans understand how hard it is for collegiate athletes to make money while playing sports for universities that make money off of their talent and images. As a student-athlete you have to tough it out. You have to be mindful of the people around you as well. In this incident involving Manziel, his so-called personal assistant asked the Autograph Broker, who took the picture above, to pay money to get Manziel to do another signing of autographs. Question: WHY does Manziel have a personal assistant? This is a red flag and I do not understand why a student-athlete needs an assistant.
It will be interesting to see how this all will play out. If Johnny Football’s reputation is any indication of what’s to come then he will not be playing this season. You decided to do this before winning the Heisman Trophy and now your football career is in jeopardy. BE CAREFUL STUDENT-ATHLETES!
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