Of Course O.J. Mayo Got Paid. Who Doesn't?

If the movie "Blue Chips" wasn't enough to convince you, then perhaps the snitching that is about to do in O.J. Mayowill. How many star athletes out of USC have to get caught up in moneyscandals? Better yet, how long are we going to pretend that collegesports is just too big of a business not to pay these kids?

For the same reasons that the University of Maryland-College Parkwon't ever be national contenders in any major sport is the same reasonthat countless other programs will. They know how to get that dough tothese players, their families and their entourage. In today's worldwhere students are as fully aware of the college sports money machineas they are about new messages on their Facebook inbox, it's crazy tothink that these athletes don't or shouldn't get paid. The hypocrisy ofthe NCAA is to ensure that athletes have the same opportunities inschool as non-athletes do, even though they are among the chieffundraisers, brand builders and admissions officers any university canask for.

But their reward should be a college education? Just a collegeeducation? They should go hungry like other college students when theirgames sells enough concession hot dogs to combat hunger in the Congofor two years?

Come on.

Name one business enterprise in this country where the primarystakeholders of the organization are rewarded with the opportunity toadvance to a better job. Imagine IBM telling its CEO, "yeah, we can'tpay you six figures, but your resume' is going to be off the chain whenyou are ready to leave, homey." That's what colleges are supposed to beasking these athletes to sign up for. The chance to go to class, and toget a great job if they don't make the professional ranks. Oh, andthanks for the millions in jersey and ticket sales, increasedapplications, and heightened levels of alumni gifts to the athleticdepartment.

Most of your schools know how to do this with tact and care. I canguess on a number of high-caliber programs that do their thing farenough under the table that the self-righteous media's high horse can'tget low enough to uncover the story. But the problem is that thereshouldn't be a story. There shouldn't be restrictions on compensatingathletes who sacrifice body and privacy for a university's bottom line.Is the pay-off big? Absolutely. But who reading this can honestly saythat anyone, athlete or non-athlete, should work for alma mater whenthere are millions of dollars being made every year.

And the crap about non-athletes don't get a cut of the pie? Thosestudents aren't even in the kitchen. If I ever brought money, acclaimand television contracts to Morgan State University as a newspapereditor, you best believe I would've been in Alumni meetings like Mookieon "Do The Right Thing,"

I gots to get paid.

Enough is enough. If no one else will do it, I'm starting themovement to end the self-righteous stance choking the life out ofcollege sports. There's a reason that college baseball isn't acollegiate cash cow, and its because the MLB and the players know thescore on how to get money. Pretty soon, basketball and football playersare going to wise up, and if the minor-leagues that are the BCS andNCAA basketball aren't going to pay their players for the barnstormingcircuits, then the arena leagues and overseas basketball clubs will.