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The Unofficial Opie & Anthony Message Board - DEBATE: Should there be an NBA Age Limit?


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Posted ByDiscussion Topic: DEBATE: Should there be an NBA Age Limit?
The Brain
He's good at teh rhyming questions
posted on 05-20-2001 @ 2:37 PM      
O&A Board Regular
Registered: Feb. 01
With the recent hoopla surrounding Vince Carter attending his graduation at North Carolina before the all-important Game 7 versus the Sixers today, a lot of the so-called "experts" are saying we would not be having this issue of players going AWOL (if only for a morning) to attend a graduation if they had stayed in college for the four (or five) necessary years, and then entered the draft with their degrees already in hand.

And now the NBA wants to set age limits so kids-- especially high-schoolers-- don't jump early.

What is everyone else's take on this? Personally I think this is all too little, too late. Sports is a entertainment business, first and foremost. The idea that they will try to hold these kids back from making money, while other entertainment industries encourage it, is absurd.
Having said that, I also believe players at the college level should receive some form of salary to compensate for the outrageous sums of cash the NCAA makes at their expense. Collegiate salaries would probably also stem the rush of undergrads and high-schoolers from jumping early.

So again, what do you guys think about this issue?



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adolescentmasturbator
posted on 05-20-2001 @ 3:05 PM      
O&A Board Regular
Registered: Jan. 01
There shouldn't be an age limit but there should be no collegiate salary. That is a very bad idea. You don't want players holding out or transfering because of salaries. Look at the mess the NBA has become with salaries. You don't want that with the NCAA.



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The Brain
He's good at teh rhyming questions
posted on 05-20-2001 @ 3:13 PM      
O&A Board Regular
Registered: Feb. 01
quote:

You don't want players holding out or transfering because of salaries. Look at the mess the NBA has become with salaries. You don't want that with the NCAA

Well, the NCAA already punishes players that transfer schools by eliminating a year of eligibility, while coaches can jump from one lucrative contract to the next without penalty. What about if all the atheletes received a uniform, non-negotiable salary? My main issue has always been that the athletes are punished for receiving "gifts", or talking with sports agents, and are essentially unable to profit from their own talents even while the NCAA negotiates multi-billion dollar TV contracts to showcase them. I just think the kids should get even a small piece of the pie.



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Kid Afrika
posted on 05-20-2001 @ 3:22 PM      
Hanger-On
Registered: Jan. 70
I think that putting kids in the NBA does them more harm than good, in the long run. An 18 year old kid, regardless of his basketball skills, is not ready to deal with the trials and tribulations(sp?) of being a multimillion dollar pro athlete.


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This message was edited by Kid Afrika on 5-20-01 @ 3:25 PM
Rone
posted on 05-20-2001 @ 8:38 PM      
O&A Board Regular
Registered: Jan. 01
the problem with giving college basketball players salaries is that the school would have to pay every varsity team. this is according to an act that the NCAA passed a few years ago.

as much as i would like to see the kids get paid for their expenses, it would be counterproductive for the schools to pay every single team.



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The Brain
He's good at teh rhyming questions
posted on 05-20-2001 @ 11:07 PM      
O&A Board Regular
Registered: Feb. 01
But the main problem still remains: these kids either leave college early, or skip college altogether, because they receive no compensation for their skills outside of scholarships, and usually that's reserved for the top recruits. Remember, the NCAA also does not allow student-athletes to make income via part-time jobs.

If you think about it, the only ones not allowed to be making money off of college basketball and football are the players themselves. Schools can sign local television contracts. Obviously, there's the big contracts between the NCAA and CBS and ABC/ESPN to show games. And merchandising, and so forth. But if a kid gets a new car, or clothes, "donated" from an agent, he's fucked. But at the same time, he's told he cannot earn money for himself (I'm just using the term "he" in this instance, because male athletes often get more exposure in these cases, and the male basketball and football athletic programs garner the most money).

And to play Devil's Advocate, and look at K1d's statement another way: it's absolutely true that a lot of these kids (and I guess we're in agreement that even at 18 or 19, they are still "children" in a way) are probably too immature to deal with the sudden wealth and exposure. Having said that, why do we allow children-- younger than 18 or 19-- to be greatly paid to work in other entertainment fields (movies, television, etc.)? Is there that much of a difference between sports and acting, for instance? We wouldn't fault the boy from the Sixth Sense from netting a few million to star in another flick, and he is barely a teenager. Why then should a nearly grown man be told he cannot earn a wage doing what he does best, however absurd the amount of money?



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This message was edited by The Brain on 5-21-01 @ 12:07 AM
Froy
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posted on 05-23-2001 @ 7:15 PM      
O&A Board Veteran
Registered: Feb. 01
No, but like with baseball there should be a salary cap


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IAmMighty
posted on 05-24-2001 @ 12:10 AM      
Psychopath
Registered: Sep. 00
I agree with k1d, these kid's really aren't mature enough to deal with the temptations of a pro athlete, Darryl Strawberry. But if he chooses it, let him go. Nobody makes a fuss about regular students, some also on scholarships, who leave school to start businesses, Bill Gates comes to mind.

If you want to stop kids from leaving school early then bypass the whole thing. Let the NBA establish a minor league system to develop the younger players, and leave the college game to collegiate athletes who aren't there for a little TV exposure.




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