06-16-2022, 09:40 AM
Per GR…“You don't stop a kid from playing because he's too good. That makes no sense.”
That probably depends on what you think the purpose of college athletics is, or maybe your definition of “kid”, which I will read to mean “student”.
I dont think that major league pro athletes who dont finish college, end their pro career and decide to go back to school, should be eligible to participate in college athletics in the same sport. My reasoning is that (1) part of the college athletic experience is to learn, and theyve likely done their learning in that sport, (2) I dont want college recruiting further perverted with universities competing to attract retiring pros who have collegiate eligibility left and (3) I dont want 18 year olds to have to compete against accomplished, successful 28 year olds. All of the above would make college sports less meaningful and entertaining for me. I acknowledge that if the main goal is to field the best possible team, then let the best players play. But thats not my goal.
GR posed a scenario where the “kid” was still college age and wasnt a star in the pros. That is a more sympathetic example. But I didnt see where the line was being drawn, or whether there was going to be a line.
So Im not suggesting that we “ stop a kid from playing because he’s too good”, Im suggesting that we need limits on who should be playing college athletics, and I didnt see any being proposed once pros are allowed to play a college sport in the same sport they were a pro. So was just taking it to the logical extreme.
One possible limit…you can play college athletics if youve played in the minor leagues, or in a development league, but not if youve had a career in the majors.
That probably depends on what you think the purpose of college athletics is, or maybe your definition of “kid”, which I will read to mean “student”.
I dont think that major league pro athletes who dont finish college, end their pro career and decide to go back to school, should be eligible to participate in college athletics in the same sport. My reasoning is that (1) part of the college athletic experience is to learn, and theyve likely done their learning in that sport, (2) I dont want college recruiting further perverted with universities competing to attract retiring pros who have collegiate eligibility left and (3) I dont want 18 year olds to have to compete against accomplished, successful 28 year olds. All of the above would make college sports less meaningful and entertaining for me. I acknowledge that if the main goal is to field the best possible team, then let the best players play. But thats not my goal.
GR posed a scenario where the “kid” was still college age and wasnt a star in the pros. That is a more sympathetic example. But I didnt see where the line was being drawn, or whether there was going to be a line.
So Im not suggesting that we “ stop a kid from playing because he’s too good”, Im suggesting that we need limits on who should be playing college athletics, and I didnt see any being proposed once pros are allowed to play a college sport in the same sport they were a pro. So was just taking it to the logical extreme.
One possible limit…you can play college athletics if youve played in the minor leagues, or in a development league, but not if youve had a career in the majors.