Investigators in North Carolina say a Georgia-based sports agent violated sports agent laws by sending cash payments and other benefits to former Tar Heels football players.
In search warrants unsealed Monday, investigators with the Secretary of State's office say Terry Watson of the Watson Sports Agency sent $2,000 cash in 2010 to Marvin Austin, who was dismissed from the team that year for receiving improper benefits. They also say Watson had contact with players before registering with the state.
The office launched its probe in 2010 shortly after the start of an NCAA investigation at the school. The law prohibits agents from offering gifts before a contract is signed and can lead to criminal or civil penalties.
Both North Carolina and Georgia are among 42 states with laws regulating sports agents.Some day in the future people will look back on stories like the above and wonder how a supposedly free people could countenance such a blatant power grab by a private group interested only in exploiting labor--in this case young men who put paying customers into the school's football stadium--by paying below market wages to them. While at the same time denying those young men (many mere teen-agers) the opportunity to exploit their own talents by earning endorsement money (as their coaches do), or any other employment opportunities.
Where's organized labor when somebody could actually use a helping hand? Where's Al Sharpton to defend the rights of exploited black men?
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