College Athletes Still Aren't Getting Paid, And I Know Just Whose Opinion We Need On The Matter...

Look, college athletes versus the higher ups at the NCAA that make an endless stream of profit due to the hard work of others isn't a new controversy. No shortage of people have weighed in on it, and I think I agree with most in saying that I would rather have the players - no matter how complimentary their "education" might be - getting reimbursed more so than the greedy, out-of-touch assholes that are so quick to penalize said players for trivial bullshit.

That being said, you really can't find a worse spokesperson for anything than Johnny Manziel as a spokesperson for the rights of college athletes. Honestly, if someone was going to sway me into taking the side of money hungry dirtbags whose Benjamin's are just about as clean as whatever little conscience they do have then it would be Johnny Football. Amar'e Stoudemire won an award for promoting diversity about 6 seconds before he went on a candidly homophobic rant with a camera present and somehow he seems more deserving of that accolade than Johnny Manziel is deserving of a public opinion on anything. 

The dude whose career only lasted two years because he needed that much time to drink it under the table before pissing it away? Maybe not who proud student-athletes want on their side at the negotiating table. The guy who has done everything in his power to drown his image and likeness at the bottom of the bottle since getting paid? Probably not the most respected advocate of letting kids get paid off their image and likeness. In fact, if there's a cautionary tale about what could happen to college athletes if he were to be compensated respective to the revenue they generate than it would be the tale of a player that graduated to full blown alcoholism upon leaving Texas A&M. I - as well as most - would agree that Johnny Manziel is a rare, excessively entitled exception, but maybe that rare, excessively entitled exception should shut up when those that didn't use the silver spoon they were born with to take bumps of blow are talking about doing right by his former peers. Ya know, like JJ Redick...

Congrats to UNC. Seriously. Also- every player on the court tonight should have been paid. Scholarships don't count. Don't @ me.

— JJ Redick (@JJRedick) April 4, 2017