Is Tampering illegal or just a violation of NCAA rules?
When I worked in industry I’d get emails or calls from recruiters a number of times a year asking me if I’d be interested in such and such a project. The specific work that I did had a shortage of people so there was always some demand. Even though I’ve been retired for several years I still get contacted a few times every year, less as time goes on. The thing I was thinking of was back in the day when I’d get contacted I’d almost always be working on a project at the time. Obviously that’s not illegal.
In 2005 I was working on a military project for Sikorsky Aircraft. It was a huge multi-billion dollar project to build new heavy lift helicopters for the marines. Well after the 2004 election Dubya’s team at the Pentagon decided to award the contract to Lockheed-Martin. Up until that point Sikorsky had been the main supplier of these aircraft to the military. Anyway, Sikorsky had other projects but a former employer contacted me because they needed someone for the restart of the Unit 1 reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant. It too was a multi-billion dollar project.
One of the things I liked about that opportunity was it was 4-day work weeks and I could go home every weekend from Muscle Shoals, Alabama as opposed to the much longer trip from where I was living in Medford, Connecticut. Another part was how many more contracts was Sikorsky apt to lose for being in the “wrong” political camp? In my exit interview, Sikorsky offered me an in-house position if I would stay and help out on a different project. As a consultant I’d easily earn 2-3 times what an employee would make. I was a mercenary. In this case I elected to transfer. The initial reason (project) that I had gone to Sikorsky in the first place wasn’t there anymore, at least not in my view, and I liked the stability and proximity to home of the gig with TVA.
So take for example Jordan Addison. He goes to Pitt and balls out. Then after a breakout year he loses his QB and his offensive coordinator. He’s celebrated as the top receiver in the country but his coach brings in a new coordinator and announces that he is going to shift from a pass oriented offense to a run oriented offense. I could imagine if you’re the supposed #1 receiver in the country you may not want to hear that. jmo.
The NCAA says until Addison puts his name in the transfer portal no one outside of Pitt can talk to him, either directly or indirectly, about other opportunities that may be available to him.
So is so called “tampering” illegal or just “against” NCAA rules?
Justice Neil Gorsuch delivered the opinion of a unanimous court targeting the education-related benefits at issue in the case. But in a concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the NCAA is essentially acting "above the law" in how it treats athletes and questioned if more spending limits should fall.
"Nowhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate," Kavanaugh wrote. "And under ordinary principles of antitrust law, it is not evident why college sports should be any different. The NCAA is not above the law."
Finally, all coaches seem to repeat the mantra that they’re going to put their players in the best position to be successful. I think a lot of times that may just be coach-speak as the coach just ends up doing whatever he wants to do. It could be one of the reasons why the average tenure of a head coach in FBS is only 3.8 years. jmo.
If the NFL draft just concluded is any indication it would appear that Heupel and his staff are in fact putting their players in a position to be successful. Our performance in the draft I think well exceeded expectations. jmo.
