Wednesday night on NBC Sports Network the show “Costas Tonight” focused on “The State of College Sports”, a 2-hour town hall style meeting featuring a number of guests with varying roles in collegiate athletics.
One segment focused on the economic issues that student-athletes can run into, and the fact that there are limited avenues they can take in order to receive such assistance.
New South Carolina head coach Frank Martin was on the show, and the situation involving Jamar Samuels came up for obvious reasons.
Samuels went to his former AAU coach, Curtis Malone, for the $200 yet that was seen as a violation of NCAA rules.
Of course Martin’s confusion still lies in the fact that Samuels wasn’t allowed to go to a person who had helped him for year without it being against the rules, and many will fall in line with that thinking from a “common sense” standpoint.
Saint Louis head coach Rick Majerus suggested a stipend that can help out student-athletes by way of an escrow account that they can access after their eligibility dries up.
Regardless of which side of the argument someone lies when it comes to the compensation of student-athletes, the Samuels situation was one more example of why the NCAA needs to revisit their rules.
Dialogue is the first step in the process, as the better understanding could lead to more productive reform.
Raphielle is also the assistant editor at CollegeHoops.net and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.