Terelle Pryor's leaving Ohio State is the latest in a getting-worse-by-the-day situation for the Buckeyes. With almost certain harsh NCAA sanctions on the horizon, many people, inside and outside of Columbus, are looking for someone to blame. All of the finger wagging and tsk-tsking won't solve the problem of athletes taking improper benefits or coaching monitoring said athletes taking improper benefits. I'm not sure what will. What I do know, however, is that understanding why this all happens can only help begin the process of resolution.
There is a fairly cheesy and highly entertaining 80s movie called "Can't Buy Me Love". The basic story is that a geeky high school student, interestingly enough played by a VERY young Patrick "McDreamy" Dempsey, pays his way hang out with the most popular girl in school and all her cool friends, betting that his mere association with them will make him cool too. Of course, he gains acceptance, then is humiliated for his hubris, and then redeems himself at the end. You know, the basic 80s plotline. Anyway.... the underlying secret of this story is that, ultimately, he was RIGHT. His association DID make him popular and cool, if only temporarily.
I would argue that the same thing is at play with these so called "boosters" giving athletes benefits ranging from cash to cars. They don't do it because their altruistic hearts break for the struggling student-athlete with no money. Nor do they do it so that their businesses will benefit, although that is sometimes a bonus. They do it because most of them were never great athletes or the most popular kid in class, and now this gives them access to that crowd. Let's face it---athletes are cool, and in a town like Columbus, they are the biggest celebrities around. Merely associating with them ups a person's cool factor exponentially, and wanting to be accepted into that exclusive circle of which athletes are a part gives them something that they feel they missed out on. In spite of the obvious business, financial and personal success of these "boosters", they are still just longing for a seat at the lunch table on the other side of the cafeteria. They get to show cell phone pictures of themselves with Terelle Pryor. They get to tell people that they text back and forth with Reggie Bush and that they are really really good friends for real. In short, wanting to be popular for some people doesn't stop once they leave high school. It can be a driving force throughout their lives, and certainly, in these cases, a major factor in why they do what they do.
Sadly, I'm not sure there is a quick fix for this problem. This need for acceptance will never go away, and student-athletes will always take free money because they're 19 years old and human. That's not condoning their actions, it's just a fact. The only real hope is that the benefactors of these improper benefits realize that, as the movie teaches, shortcuts are always unfulfilling.
