Last week, the NCAA shocked everybody when they suddenly created a new rule that would keep agents without University degrees from representing NCAA talent. That rule was quickly dubbed the “Rich Paul Rule” as he rose to be a super agent in the NBA without ever receiving a four-year diploma.
LeBron James spoke out against it and called out the NCAA for being afraid of Rich Paul:
It took a few days but Paul has now broken his silence after writing a piece for The Athletic. In the article, Paul criticizes the NCAA for discriminatory practices that will keep certain people from exercising their right to do business, mainly people of color.
“The harmful consequences of this decision will ricochet onto others who are trying to break in,” Paul said in an op-ed for The Athletic. “NCAA executives are once again preventing young people from less prestigious backgrounds, and often people of color, from working in the system they continue to control. In this case, the people being locked out are kids who aspire to be an agent and work in the NBA and do not have the resources, opportunity, or desire to get a four-year degree.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NBA stories via Google! Follow Us
“I actually support requiring three years of experience before representing a kid testing the market. I can even get behind passing a test. However, requiring a four-year degree accomplishes only one thing — systematically excluding those who come from a world where college is unrealistic.
“Does anyone really believe a four-year degree is what separates an ethical person from a con artist?”
“Let’s also be clear that once the NCAA requires a four-year degree for athletes ‘testing the waters,’ it’s only a matter of time until this idea is socialized, no longer questioned, and then more broadly applied. We all know how this works. Unfair policy is introduced incrementally so people accept it because it only affects a small group. Then the unfair policy quietly evolves into institutional policy. I’m not sure what the technical term is for that because I didn’t finish college but I know it when I see it.”
It will be quite interesting how Rich Paul is able to maneuver around this new rule going forward.
