South Carolina Football: Players Must be Punished for Appearing on Party Ad

The NCAA deems it illegal for any college athletes to promote or advertise anything. Because of that, South Carolina football stars C.C. Whitlock and Jadeveon Clowney have violated NCAA rules by appearing in an advertisement for a Christmas Eve party.

According to Timothy Burke of Deadspin.com, the players are being advertised as hosts for the party being put on by Club Cascades in Rock Hill, S.C.

While the players should be absolved if their likenesses were used without consent, promoter Jason Ford insists they agreed to be featured in the ad, according to Kevin McCrarey of SportsTalkGoLive.com. If that is true, then the NCAA has to make an example of the players by levying some sort of punishment like a short suspension.

It likely won't affect Whitlock in any way as the cornerback is concluding his senior year, but Clowney is a different story. The freshman defensive end was honored as the SEC Freshman of the Year and has a very bright future with the Gamecocks. Even so, he shouldn't be above NCAA discipline.

A similar thing happened with Clemson freshman wide receiver Sammy Watkins, although he was able to escape any type of punishment from the NCAA. Players appearing on party fliers have clearly become an epidemic, and if the NCAA wants to stop it, then it has to take a firm stance.

The fact that Clowney is just 19 years old makes this an even bigger problem since the event's Facebook page clearly indicates that there will be drinking involved. That isn't to say that Clowney would be drinking if he were to host the party as claimed by the flier, but a prominent, underage person probably shouldn't even be in that type of situation.

I understand that there are far more egregious violations going on in college sports right now, but if the NCAA continues to let players appear in advertisements and give them little more than a slap on the wrist, then it isn't going to stop anyone from continuing to do it.

Ruling Whitlock and Clowney ineligible for the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 2 or simply giving Clowney a one-game suspension to start next season would speak volumes. I understand that the NCAA can be tyrannical at times, but it would be well within its rights to punish Whitlock and Clowney, and I believe it should.