The NCAA Is Just Keeping Things "Fair" By Not Allowing Marcus Lattimore To Have A Paid Job At His Alma Mater

Yahoo- Marcus Lattimore's ambassador position with South Carolina reportedly can't be a paid position.

​According to The State, the sanctioning body ruled that South Carolina could not hire Lattimore in a non-coaching capacity when he graduates in May. Why? We'll let the State explain:

The NCAA has stated that Lattimore cannot join Will Muschamp’s staff at USC due to Lattimore’s status as a former player and his presence through football camps and foundation. The NCAA considers it an unfair recruiting advantage.

A possible non-coaching position for Lattimore had been discussed for quite some time. Lattimore returned to the school to finish his degree last year and the school had said it was trying to work him into the fold both while he was finishing classes and beyond. 




You know what they say, fair is fair, and if there is a multibillion dollar organization that knows it when they see it then it's the NCAA. It's no secret that when it comes to recruiting there is only so much that a former player is allowed to give back, and Marcus Lattimore has already given up his prolonged health, his future in football, and every cent that he would have made throughout his NFL career to the University of South Carolina. Giving a ringing endorsement of his alma mater to potential recruits in exchange for an official job title would have simply crossed that threshold between what is and isn't a violation.

It seems cruel that a player whose long term earning potential was completed dissipated by the injuries he incurred while playing for nothing more than a degree and a crappy meal plan is being denied the opportunity to get paid to provide a service. In fact, it kind of feels like someone who was forced to give up one job opportunity to work for the NCAA is now having another job opportunity pulled from him by the NCAA. It's a good thing I trust an association so ethical to ensure that schools are only using the most noble of practices to lure teenagers to their respective football programs. If I didn't I might conclude that they were jeopardizing Marcus Lattimore's entire livelihood to adhere to some oft-compromised standard of conduct. It turns out that making it next to impossible for one supremely talented, unfortunate kid to pursue a career in a field he loves is just the best way to maintain competitive balance. Sorry Marcus, it's not that you're only of use to the NCAA when you are working for free, it's that they think you'll be soooo good at your job that you'll throw off the entire balance of power in college football. 

In all seriousness, if there is one person that exemplifies the problem with college athletics it's Marcus Lattimore. A world class running back that never had a real opportunity to profit off his God-given abilities because he was too busy sacrificing his body as a charitable effort to pay for old white dudes to finance their yachts. There's just no way that a critical thinking human being with the best interest of his company in mind would publicly deny a former player a job when that player represents the biggest threat to the continued success of said company. It doesn't surprise me that the NCAA is making yet another detrimental decision, it surprises me that they can continue to do this while suffering so many self inflicted wounds...