This Eric Dickerson Tweet About Johnny Manziel Is Absurdly Hypocritical
Players' opinions have generally lined up with the way they view the NCAA's stance on amateurism.
There is plenty of hypocrisy involved, but Dickerson's take is particularly lacking in self-awareness.
Dickerson played for SMU during the peak of it's recruiting corruption. The program was so corrupt that the NCAA shut it down for two-years, a punishment known as the "death penalty."
In Dickerson's era players where given actual contracts by SMU boosters to play as "amateurs" at the university.
Dickerson also made headlines when he drove a gold 1979 Pontiac Trans-Am to high school. The car was financed by his elderly grandmother but believed to be a gift for his commitment to, of all schools, Texas A&M. Dickerson would later pull out from his verbal commitment to the Aggies and play for SMU, who helped him pay the rest of his car payments.
The car:
Dickerson was one of the most heralded high school football players in Texas history. He of all people should know how difficult life in the spotlight can be. A guy who once had a recruiter bring $50,000 to his house in a briefcase should be standing up for a kid trying to traverse the traps Manziel currently faces.
It was pretty dumb if Manziel signed autographs for five-figures. It is outrageous that everyone but him can make money off his ability.
It is incredibly absurd for Dickerson, the pot, to call the kettle black.