More on Andre Smith and Improper Contact with a Sports Agent

Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal Constitution wrote about why Smith's suspension will be good for Alabama. In it he had these pearls of wisdom:

As a college athlete you have every right to talk to an agent and attempt to do what is best for your future. But you don’t have a right to keep playing college football. Choices have consequences. Bad choices have very bad consequences.

Andrew Brandt of the National Football Post, after making it clear that he has no knowledge of the violation, makes an important observation and addresses the reality of the situation in his Tuesday Thoughts:

That would not only violate the rule of coach Nick Saban but also the NFLPA rule for contact with juniors. Despite those rules, the competition from agents for a player like Smith would be intense and widespread, perhaps leading to improper contact that Saban discovered.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk recently posted that Junior Rule Violations Run Rampant:

A league source tells us that, in its second year of existence, the NFL Players Association’s rule prohibiting agents from talking to underclassmen prior to their entry into the pool of players who’ll be drafted in April isn’t working.

If this situation is indeed a result of improper contact with an agent, Andre Smith isn't the only one who is going to be punished. The agent(s) involved could also face punishment. As Darren Heitner of SportsAgentBlog.com recently covered, Alabama might not be the best place for an agent to get into trouble. Stay tuned.

For more on the "Junior Rule" - check out this post from February.