Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, College Sports, J.R. Tidwell, Sports, Sports Columnists
 By  J.R. Tidwell Published 
5:59 am Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Trick for teams is to not get caught

Everyone does it, but the trick is to not get caught.

That is the mentality that goes around the sports world from college to pro ball.

USC, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and North Carolina all know what I’m talking about, especially when it comes to college football.

The New Orleans Saints are finding out just what it means to get caught doing something against the rules, just like the New England Patriots found out a few seasons ago.

Punitive measures are taken against teams that break the rules, but they are never enough to really stem the tide of infractions.

All they do is make teams better at hiding things.

I contend that every major college football program and several NFL teams cheat in some way.

The only reason they will quit is if they get caught, and only a few programs at a time are ever caught and punished.

I know that every SEC football team pays players. I know that because it’s not just the SEC that does it.

The problem is that college football players cannot have jobs, so how does the NCAA expect them to have money to get by?

The answer is that schools pay players. This is illegal, obviously, but I’m not sure that I even care if they do.

Some of the paid players across NCAA football need that money to eat off of. Sure there are exceptions, but so long as one person uses illegal benefits for necessities, how can you blame them all?

The NCAA inadvertently promotes paying players by not allowing them to have jobs.

That means that 120 football programs have players that can’t work for spending money or eating money.

Schools with a football program need players, and those players need to be happy and fed to stick around.

So schools pay them. It makes sense when you take it out of the context of a rules violation.

What is not acceptable to me is paying players and or families to have someone come to a specific university.

Players also shouldn’t get cars, access to women of ill repute or things like that.

That isn’t right.

But when it comes to money that allows some players to get by, I don’t have a problem.

The Saints crossed the line with their bounty program, but don’t think that they are the only team that does/did it.

They just happened to get caught.

 

 

J.R. Tidwell is sports editor for The Franklin County Times. He can be reached at (256) 332-1881, ext. 31.

Also on Franklin County Times
County school board adopts $52M budget
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
September 17, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE Franklin County Schools has adopted a $52 million budget for fiscal year 2026, reflecting a $2.5 million increase over last year. The bud...
Judge denies YO status for Phinizee
Main, News, Z - News Main
Bernie Delinski For the FCT 
September 17, 2025
FLORENCE — Youthful offender status was denied Tuesday for a 17-year-old charged with the death of a 13-yearold during what authorities said was a rob...
RCS passes $43.3M budget
Main, News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
September 17, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE -- The city school board has approved a $43.3 million budget for the 2025-26 school year. Chief Financial Officer Lisa Witt said revenues...
Program tackles stress of caregiver burnout
News, Records, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
September 17, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE -- Many people deal with caregiver burnout. Kids and Kin childcare partner Marquita Wilson presented a program at the Russellville Public...
Flavil Wayne McCaig
Obituaries
September 17, 2025
Flavil Wayne McCaig Sept. 12, 2025   Flavil Wayne McCaig, 82, of Russellville, passed away Sept. 12 at his residence. He was born March 3, 1943, to Au...
Cultura Garden Club begins its year with roses and plans for fall
Columnists, News, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
September 17, 2025
The Cultura Garden Club held its first meeting of the year. President Cheri McCain presided. She provided information on projects and programs for the...
We can’t afford to lose electric vehicle industry
Columnists, Opinion
September 17, 2025
In Alabama, we understand what it means to build things that matter. We’ve long been home to builders and winners – our steel won wars and built the s...
Firefighters, cadets honor 9/11 with stair climbs
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
September 17, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE – Firefighters and RHS JROTC cadets participated in a stair climb in recognition of the 24th anniversary of 9-11. Sgt. Grant Tarascou and...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *