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In wake of report on FBI probe into college basketball, Jay Bilas calls out college football
Published:
In the least shocking news of the day, ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas spoke out against the NCAA’s handling of revenue sports.
It was college basketball that was put on the hot seat on Friday morning when a Yahoo! Sports report revealed that several big-time programs and players were identified in an FBI probe into the sport.
But on an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, Bilas called out college football:
"We've had this for a long, long time & if people don't think this is going on in football right now they're either painfully naive or willfully blind" – @JayBilas pic.twitter.com/atcI4y4e5u
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) February 23, 2018
Bilas, who was on a Twitter roll on Friday, continued with another shot at college football:
"I don't know any reasonable person that would sit here & tell you that basketball is corrupt but football is pure as the driven snow, selling girl scout cookies & helping little old ladies across the street" – @JayBilas pic.twitter.com/2eYnSgKz81
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) February 23, 2018
Is Bilas wrong? Probably not.
The timing of his claim, however, might not be ideal. Saying that college basketball is OK for being corrupt because he believes college football isn’t be the best argument to defend the sport.
His ESPN colleague Greg McElroy pointed that out:
I find it comical how quickly the basketball analysts go out of their way to mention. “oh well, this goes on in football, too”
Football isn’t perfect, but the focus of the FBI investigation and today’s Yahoo story is on COLLEGE BASKETBALL. Don’t try to deflect. https://t.co/4ZczE3ZTgT
— Greg McElroy (@GregMcElroy) February 23, 2018
It’s certainly possible that both McElroy and Bilas are right.
Either way, their opinions don’t change the reality that at the moment, college basketball has a major problem on its hands. It could impact the upcoming NCAA Tournament and the entire model of the sport could shift in the near future.
If Bilas has it his way, though, college basketball and football players will be allowed to get much more than the occasional meal from an agent.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
