An NCAA Division I coach of a revenue-producing sport, my friend would gather his players together at the start of every season with the same simple message.
In a room where no one else could see or hear him, he would tell them: “If you need something, come tell me and we’ll do our best to take care of it. If you want, forget it (though he may have used a few more colorful words than that).”
His point was unmistakable: NCAA rules or not, we’re going to do what we can to help you and your family in a time of need. But needing money to pay your mom’s power bill or to go home for Christmas is not the same as wanting a 50-inch TV or a 10th pair of Nike Air Jordans.
All of which brings us to former Ole Miss football player Laremy Tunsil and his recent comments during the first round of the NFL draft that he received improper benefits from the coaching staff, including money to pay his mom’s power bill.
Unfortunately, Tunsil wasn’t much of a sympathetic figure long before the Internet leak of him smoking on a bong through a gasmask on draft night. He had been forced to sit out the first seven games of his senior season due to what the NCAA termed “impermissible benefits,” including the use of a loaner car he never paid for.