It’s been a year since the NCAA decided to allow college basketball players who want to test the waters of the NBA draft to consult with an agent without losing their eligibility, a move generally seen by outside observers as an important step toward fair treatment of these student-athletes.
However, whenever anything the NCAA does seems even remotely positive or athlete-friendly, you‘d better believe there’s a catch. This week, that catch came in the form of ridiculously over-the-top regulations that appear custom-targeted toward dampening the influence of one of the few black agents at the top of the game: Rich Paul, LeBron James’ long-time agent and business partner.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop! They BIG MAD 😡 and Scared 😱. Nothing will stop this movement and culture over here. Sorry! Not sorry. 😁✌🏾
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 6, 2019
On Tuesday, the NCAA issued a memo clarifying that if an underclassmen wants to retain his NCAA eligibility — meaning he wants the ability to return to college if, after consulting with agents and working out for teams, he thinks his draft stock would be improved by spending another year in school — then any agent he talks to must meet three criteria: They must pass an in-person exam administered