Jarez Parks Committed To Alabama Via International Video...Only To Be Told They Ran Out Of Scholarships

Watch 4-star DE Jarez Parks become the first recruit to commit from the Eiffel Tower. #BRCommitmentWeek pic.twitter.com/NXoBGJqhmr

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 1, 2017

TheComeback- National Signing Day is celebrated nationwide as a time when high school athletes get to make their college picks, and while it is a joyous day for many players, some coaches still show how they hold all the power in the process and can screw over athletes.

That’s what happened when Alabama, which had offered four-star defensive end Jarez Parks a spot in its class, decided the day of National Signing Day that it would not be honoring that offer.

As it turns out, the Crimson Tide went over their 85-scholarship allotment when they were offering scholarships, and only had room to take one more player on National Signing Day. Even though they offered Parks a scholarship, they decided they didn’t want him, as they were hoping for another player to sign with them.

​This comes after Parks went all the way to the Eiffel Tower to film a commitment video with Bleacher Report in which he picked the Crimson Tide.

Shocker! A very emotional Jarez Parks says he will announce later today. Silence in the auditorium. #TCPrepZone #@NSD17

— Jon Santucci (@JonSantucci) February 1, 2017

What I'm told on Jarez Parks- He has committed to #Alabama as a grayshirt. He will enroll next January. @TideSports

— Andrew Bone (@AndrewJBone) February 1, 2017

I would like to take this time to apologize to my 6th grade math teacher for constantly asking her why we had to show our work if we "knew" the answer. I can't help but think that having the numbers laid out in front of them would have helped Alabama avoid taking a big, fat shit on the best moment of a high profile recruit's life. Christ almighty Crimson Tide. How about carrying the one so don't end up leaving him standing in a foreign country with a camera crew and an uncertain immediate future?

It's either there was a minor miscalculation that made a decisive, well traveled kid look like a jackass before day's end, or Nick Saban loves the chase even moreso than his former offensive coordinator. Talk about making someone fall for you only to turn your back on them when they do. The Crimson Tide got Jarez Parks to profess his love for them in front of a fucking international monument before completely ghosting on him. Never mind 'Bleacher Report', the 4-star defensive end should have had MTV on scene because what we just witnessed was the recruitment equivalent of catfishing. 

And no, I'm not surprised something like this happened. I would hope this is the peak when it comes to institutions treating student-athletes like that unnecessary bag of chips you throw in the cart before thinking better of it and tossing them to the side when it comes to pay. However, treating the people doing the grunt work for a billion dollar industry like the guys you scoop up in your truck from the local bus stop when you need your gutters cleaned is a practice that's been going for years. The optimist in me hopes this particular instance of that practice would be met with discipline to send a message to a university that surely thinks it can get away with anything. The realist in me knows that the NCAA is too busy punishing 19 year olds for using recreational drugs and transferring schools when they are lied to for any actual penalties to come out of this blatant act of organizational negligence.