Pete Carroll might make his home in the NFL now, but he’ll always have ties to the NCAA (some good, some bad).
That’s why when he was recently asked about the way the NCAA monitors and enforces its rules, Carroll was more than willing to share his opinion on the topic.
From the Seattle Times:
Carroll said he believes the NCAA starts with the objective of finding wrongdoing, something that is reactive rather than trying to protect the game from outside influences to prevent problems. He pointed out that schools are being punished for actions of people who aren’t even affiliated with the university.
“If you notice, it’s people from outside the community of the actual working body of the university,” Carroll said. “In our situation at USC, it was absolutely that. What are we doing about that? How are we dealing with that?”
Instead, the focus is on after-the-fact punishment.
“You can only spank them so many times,” Carroll said. “I don’t think that has anything to do with making things right.”
As for paying college players? “No,” he said. “I’ve never thought that. That’s not the issue. They have a great life.”
When you think about it, college players are already being paid to play. They get free room and board, free tuition, free tutoring and free books. Granted, they also have the pressure of playing a collegiate sport, but let’s not act like these kids aren’t getting something in exchange for their services.
And as far as what Carroll is saying about the NCAA being reactive – he’s right. The NCAA should be spending most of its time trying to prevent these agents, tattoo owners and car dealers from luring players in with free goods and services instead of constantly having to crack the whip. The best way to avoid diseases is prevention.
Of course, that’s easier said than done and I don’t have any solutions here. There’s only so much coaches can do before they have to trust that these players will get it through their thick skulls not to accept improper benefits. The same goes for the NCAA, which can only do so much in order to steer athletes in the right direction.
Still, as Carroll points out, it wouldn’t hurt for the NCAA to get more proactive than reactive. Instead of waiting for these athletes to mess up and then flexing its muscles, how about the NCAA gets more involved in order to prevent these bad influences from penetrating its programs? What’s that old saying: If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem?
