Four schools in the Southeastern Conference have come under fire lately for improper dealings with agents. Players from Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia are all under NCAA investigation.Alabama defensive lineman Marcell Dareus, South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders and Georgia receiver A.J. Green are three players rumored to have been at a Miami party that set off the investigation. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said the questions surrounding the party are about who paid for it. If agents paid for players to attend the party, they could lose their eligibility.”All I know is about what … the world knows now,” Spurrier said at SEC Media Days.No LSU players have been named in the investigation, and junior cornerback Patrick Peterson said he had nothing to do with the party or agents.”They try talking to me all the time,” Peterson said. “But I keep my distance away from those guys, knowing the consequences.”It’s all about being mature and learning what people to avoid, Peterson said.”I want to play here at LSU and keep my eligibility,” Peterson said. “I just tell themthat I’ll talk to you at the proper time.”Florida coach Urban Meyer said a coach can’t always be there to watch everything. “For a coach to figure out who a runner is at a nightclub at 2:30 in the morning, I’ve been asleep for four hours. The coaches can’t do that. I’ve tried to,” Meyer said. “At Florida we have security for one reason, and it’s not so much for the fans. It’s for people we don’t want around our players.”It’s not a matter of keeping agents off campus, but teaching the players about who to trust, Meyer said.”I heard a comment about [keeping] the agents off campus,” Meyer said. “[It’s] arguably one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve ever heard because they are off campus. They’re not on our campus. If they are, they’re hiding behind bushes.”So who’s to blame? Alabama coach Nick Saban insisted most of the fault falls on the shoulders of the agent. While most agents are good, it’s the few agents who break the rules that cause problems, he continued.”Agents that do this, I hate to say this, but how are they any better than a pimp?” Saban asked. “I have no respect for people who do that to young people, none. I mean, none. How would you feel if they did it to your child?” Meyer said agents are like predators and compared the situation to an “epidemic that needs to be fixed.””Since my first day at Florida, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Meyer said.Saban said the only way to fix the problem is to give rule-breaking agents severe repercussions.”If an agent does anything to affect the eligibility of a college football player, his license ought to be suspended for a year,” Saban said. “That’s the only way we’re going to stop what’s happening out there because it’s ridiculous and it’s entrapment of young people at a very difficult time in their life.”Saban said Alabama has always treated the NFL well in the past. It might not be so hospitable if the organization doesn’t do something to control the agents in the future.”I’ve never had one minute of our practice ever restricted to NFL scouts, anything we do, in benefit of our players,” Saban said. “I would absolutely hate to do this. But I would also hope that the NFL and the NFL Players Association would do something about this without us having to do that.”Tweaking the NCAA rules might be another solution, said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive.”The current NCAA rules are as much a part of the problem as they are the solution,” Slive said. “The rules make it difficult for student-athletes to seek and obtain the kind of advice they need to properly evaluate potential opportunities for a career in professional sports.”Slive said he didn’t intend to excuse bad behavior, but thinks a change needs to happen.”It is time to reexamine the NCAA rules that relate to agents,” Slive said. “We in the SEC look forward to being active participants in this review.”
 
 
 
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