I Don’t Have A Problem With Derrick Rose. I Do Have A Problem With the NCAA.

Derrick Rose was too dumb to go to college. Derrick Rose is a fantastic basketball player. The established system of getting paid to play basketball requires that you go to college, even though college has little or nothing to do with one’s ability to play basketball. (Yes, you can play in Europe, but most people go through the NCAA. And Europe is far away and may be difficult for some people to adjust too, and involves its own red tape. And the NBA shut off early entry, so that is no longer an option).

What should Derrick Rose have done? Some of you, I’m sure, will claim that even an idiot can score high enough on the SATs to get into college. Maybe that’s true, but I doubt it. Have you met people?

Jay Mariotti wrote a self-righteous diatribe about Rose and Calipari. He claims this will tarnish Rose forever. I think that Rose’s cheating will allow him to be famous enough to be tarnished forever. What if Rose goes to Europe? First, his family has to have the wherewithal and ability to send him to Europe. Then he has to crack a lineup, get noticed, etc. Or, he can stay in the states where he’s comfortable, go to college, contribute millions of dollars in ticket and merchandise sales to his university all while not getting paid, get out, get to the NBA, and make millions of dollars. But we’re going to look down on him because he cheated on a test that might have kept all of that from happening, and that he might not have been able to pass, and that has nothing at all to do with his career. Sure, that makes sense.

And did I mention that he can’t be punished? The NCAA can try to wipe their names from the record books, but people will still remember. And it’s not like Rose’s test had any effect on the game. And I doubt Rose really cares. He’s rich and famous and has cool cars and stuff.

The NCAA isn’t about punishing offenders. It punishes people who had nothing to do with the scandal in question. New recruits? Punished. Students who were looking forward to Memphis basketball? Punished. People who benefitted from the revenue generated by the basketball team in the form of grants and scholarships? Punished. Derrick Rose? Rich and famous. There’s some deterrent for you.

Derrick Rose did what he had to do to make the most of his life. A bunch of busybodies concerned about the false nobility of amateurism tried to stop him. He beat them and rubbed their faces in it.

Kudos to him.