Paid like Pros, Called out like Pros

FILE – UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, right, runs the ball in for a touchdown as Southern California linebacker Ralen Goforth defends during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021, in Los Angeles. Thompson-Robinson is back for a fifth season as UCLA’s quarterback when many, including coach Chip Kelly, thought he would leave for the NFL. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

It has always been an unwritten rule among media members, no harsh critique of college athletes when they don’t perform well. But now many in the media are left wondering if all that changes now that NIL is changing the college landscape.

The question is a simple one, can the media now criticise college athletes like the pros? My answer is a simple yes. It is pay for play now in college athletics, so that means if the play is not living up to the play, the media gloves can come off.

College football players are driving around in Lamborghinis and have full bank accounts, just like the pros. They are being lured to schools that make the best offers, just like the pros. So they should be subject to the same media scrutiny as the pros.

I have always favored the unwritten rule of taking it easy on college athletes and will certainly continue to follow that rule on the high school level, but for me and many others the gloves will be coming off for college athletes. Not because I want to but because the rules have changed. Colleges are paying for the best teams money can buy, so when the performance doesn’t live up to the price of admission, the media should now be allowed to boo loudly!

Let me know what you think on Twitter, @joereinagel210 and on The Blitz, Monday-Friday, 4 to 7 PM on FM 94.1 and AM 1250