I don’t believe Checkerboards is mad at Tony for doing what it takes to win in modern college sports, I just think he has a distaste for what modern college sports has become.
I can respect his stance on that; it’s taken some adjusting for me, also. The only thing I found odd was that yesterday was his breaking point.
His football breaking point was when he said he would never post again
if we beat Florida last year, and then we did, and he got super pissed and said he would not stop posting because
he liked to piss people off.
As far as what college sports is becoming, I think it is great for us. The old way that checkers wants to resurrect amounted to
the NCAA setting aside a few programs as free and clear to cheat with impunity, and to attack their rivals. LSU didn't start buying baseball players when the High Court backed NIL! And everybody knows Kirby imported Saban's bag game to GA. With impunity because he knows where the bodies are buried in Tuscaloosa. Kansas recently won the basketball tournament when everyone knew they did so in the middle of an unenforced cheating scandal, and everyone knows UNC staged fake classes for athletes and walked.
Now
everyone can pay players and that is the reason Saban and others similarly situated decided to conduct their big campaign to regulate NIL. They want it regulated so they, GA, and OSU, and LSU in baseball, KY UNC Kansas in basketball, etc., can go back to cheating with impunity. The new system or lack of system yields a more level playing field for the majors.
The real issue is who would enforce the regulation. People tend to imagine perfect and just application of rules when they ponder rules. How many blatant targeting cases have their been with the portal? And who seems like the only team penalized for it? That really got this baseball year off on the wrong foot. We know the NCAA can't be trusted. The SuperConferences will do it, people say. Well that is the Birmingham Office and the SEC and they are a by-word for bias and favortism. The bribe-eaters in Congress can't be trusted. Without fair and consistent application across the board, new rules are just weapons in the hands of the same teams that always get a pass imo.
Then you have these other types -- I think checkers sides with them too (but who cares) -- who love to hand wring
if and only if Tennessee portals-over someone. I coin "portals over" on the analogy of recruiting over. But these people never go off on any other team for it. I think it's dishonest. That's just how iron sharpens iron and winners win.
I love what Tony Vitello is doing.
