Josh Brooks pushes back.

And good for him.

I’ve had the privilege to work in collegiate athletics for more than 20 years, 11 of which have been at the University of Georgia. I love Athens. I have three boys that attend Clarke County schools.  Athens is woven into the fabric of my family’s life, so I was both saddened and disappointed to hear that an Athens-Clarke County commissioner recently made inaccurate, overgeneralized, and hurtful statements about our football student-athletes in a public meeting — statements that she has continued to defend in subsequent comments.

… The fact is, most of our student-athletes excel in all aspects of life, and while that does not excuse any instances of wrongdoing, it certainly underscores the fact that those transgressions tend to be the exception — not the rule.  The insinuation that a disproportionate number of our athletes are committing violent crimes is not only grossly inaccurate, but also woefully inappropriate and reckless. The idea that an overgeneralized, hurtful, and inaccurate statement should be accepted because it was in response to sarcastic quip about players drafted in a small room, is distasteful and careless. Misinformation and divisive rhetoric made public in any way is irresponsible, particularly coming from an elected official, as it provides a spark that can and has spread quickly.

Somebody from UGA needed to let Melissa Link know her comments about the football team were over the top.  Well said, sir.

“It’s a race to the bottom to some extent.”

And nobody wants to get left behind.

Gregory relayed the memory last week as an inspiration after rushing at the last minute to push through an amendment that would relax the state’s name, image and likeness law in hopes of further compensating athletes. In a move that should resonate from the SEC to NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, a proposed bill would allow any athletic department official — including coaches — to assist with NIL deals.

After passing both the Missouri house and senate on Friday — less than a day before the end of the legislative session for the year — SB 718 now awaits only Gov. Mike Parson’s signature to become law.

“I want Missouri to have the best players,” said Gregory, now a farmer who grows corn, soybeans and wheat on 1,100 acres in the western half of the state.

Especially in the SEC.

That about summarizes the blink-and-you-miss-it climate. Missouri is poised to become the latest state to expand NIL opportunities beyond the NCAA rulebook.

Late last month, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill that significantly broadened NIL rights. It allows interaction between collectives, coaches and athletes. That could not have been well-received by the NCAA, which singled out collectives last week. Specifically, that law means the Knoxville-based Spyre Sports Group, which is overseeing the $8 million contract of a prospect believed to be quarterback Nico Iamaleava, would no longer be banned from interaction by the state.

Existing laws in Louisiana and Illinois are undergoing amendment conversions that would allow booster involvement…

In February, Alabama repealed its NIL law when it was deemed more restrictive than the NCAA’s meager standards. You’re not alone if you’ve noticed a lot of this activity is bubbling up from SEC schools.

“[The Missouri amendment] was more in response to looking at some other SEC state schools either a) just completely repealing their language or b) really the catalyst was when Tennessee made the same change that we did,” Gregory said.

He added: “When you have millions upon millions of dollars being thrown around and TV contracts and advertising and ticket sales and donors, the reason that [money] happens is the performance on the field. And the performance on the field comes from great coaches and great players.”

You have to think at some point in time Georgia joins the queue.

Mark Richt has lost control of the ACC Commission.

She seems nice.

Commissioner Melissa Link has responded to criticism spurred by a comment she made during a budget hearing in which she said football players at the University of Georgia are “out there raping and murdering.”

On Thursday, Athens commissioners met for the first of a series of budget hearings, and during this meeting, they discussed recruitment at the police department, which has seen a high number of vacancies.

In the budget proposal, there is a potential Police Youth Cadet Corp program that would have 10 part-time cadets work with the police department and serve as a path to employment for Athens community youth.

In the meeting, Link was skeptical of the idea and brought up the alternative of other recruitment tools, including recruiting from the University of Georgia.

“I brought this up before [I] had [a] discussion with Chief Spruill about direct recruiting, maybe, from UGA athletes,” said Link during the budget meeting. “They’re highly fit and intelligent college-educated young people who might want to stay in this community.”

Later in the conversation, Commissioner Mike Hamby remarked, “I think all the football players got drafted.”

As a response to Hamby, Link made her comment about UGA football players.

“A lot of them are out there raping and murdering,” said Link.

She did amend her comment to a “couple of them”, so there’s that.  Anyway, it was really meant as support.

“The fact is the vast majority of college athletes never get anywhere near a professional career in athletics and one would hope it would be a priority of the program to assure that those individuals transition smoothly into productive adulthood. Sadly, quite a few do not,” said Link.

Link said that Gaines did not take into account the context of the conversation, which she said was a discussion of giving graduating Georgia athletes an opportunity to “prevent straying down the wrong path.”

Maybe the ones who avoid raping and murdering should consider a career in politics.

The call is coming from inside the house.

Missouri lawmakers have amended a state law to give college coaches and university employees a more active role in the endorsement opportunities their athletes now have in the name, image and likeness movement. The amendment was introduced on the House floor Thursday then passed through both chambers in Jefferson City and now waits for Gov. Mike Parson’s signature.

Last summer, the state legislature passed a bipartisan bill similar to other versions around the country that allow college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness in the form of paid endorsements with third-party companies. On Thursday, Rep. Kurtis Gregory, R-Marshall, introduced an amendment to the law to allow coaches and school officials to become participants in the process, similar to a recent Tennessee amendment signed into state law earlier this spring.

“As with anything that is new and evolving, we need to go in and update a few things to stay competitive, and that’s what we’re doing,” Gregory said on the House floor. “Some other states have gone in and made changes to theirs. And that’s all we’re trying to do is stay on par to make sure our coaching staff and athletic department can go out and recruit the best of the best athletes get them to come to our state.

If anarchy is the result of the absence of government regulation, can we really call this the Wild West if the sheriff is the one making the rules?

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