On Friday, Yahoo Sports reported that several high-profile former and current college basketball players had received loans and other benefits from Andy Miller, a former NBA agent.
Former Terp Diamond Stone was one of the players mentioned in the article, although there’s no indication Stone received any improper benefits from Maryland.
The article has prompted a larger discussion about the idea of amateurism in college athletics, and several people connected to Maryland athletics have weighed in. Perhaps the most surprising person with a connection is former football head coach Randy Edsall, who tweeted this.
With @NCAAFootball proposal 2017-99 adopted Colleges and Universities will employee more people in their scouting departments than the NFL and still not paying the players with all the money being brought into the Conferences. We’ve become a farm system. #PayThePlayers
— Randy Edsall (@RandyEdsall) February 23, 2018
I don’t think anyone would have expected Edsall to speak out like this — he’s currently the head coach at Connecticut, so he very much has a horse in this race — but 2018 is a year full of surprises.
Meanwhile, former Maryland football player Jermaine Carter brought up the idea of college athletes boycotting.
What would the @NCAA do if all the athletes just boycotted and didn’t play? Lol — 1 (@JERMA1NECARTER) February 23, 2018
Another football player, AJ Francis, said he would have done the same thing that the college basketball players were reported to have done.
I want y’all to understand one thing, a year before I was in the NFL, I was a college grad w/ negative money in my bank account… if someone offered me $14k, I would not have thought twice about taking it. If you got a problem with that, fuck you and the @NCAA ????????♂️
— FRAN¢ (@AJFrancis410) February 23, 2018
They were joined by former Maryland men’s soccer player Suli Dainkeh, who offered his somewhat vague opinion on the issue.
The NCAA should just make it legal and call it a day. — Suli Dainkeh (@Sulibears) February 23, 2018
Whether college players should be paid is a debate that’s existed for quite a while, and the ongoing scandal in college basketball has brought the issue to the forefront once again. Several of Maryland’s former coaches and players have made their views on the issue pretty clear.
