It's OK for high school star LeBron James, who will turn pro next year, to have a $80,000 Hummer because it was financed by his mother, but apparently getting a couple of free jerseys as memorabilia isn't, according to the Ohio High School Athletic Association, which has now suspended James for the rest of the season.
Does the OHSAA really think they are upholding the wonderful traditions of amateur athletics by making this ruling? No, what they are doing is hurting James' teammates, who might have been able to go on and win the state title and say they did it with someone who will be an NBA star in a couple years, if not sooner.
I'm not going to weigh in here on the rightness or wrongness of high school athletes going pro when they're not ready, but this decision clearly stinks.
Does the OHSAA really think they are upholding the wonderful traditions of amateur athletics by making this ruling? No, what they are doing is hurting James' teammates, who might have been able to go on and win the state title and say they did it with someone who will be an NBA star in a couple years, if not sooner.
I'm not going to weigh in here on the rightness or wrongness of high school athletes going pro when they're not ready, but this decision clearly stinks.