I Don't Give A Shit That Sean Miller Reportedly Paid Deandre Ayton $10,000/Month Or Any Other Pay-For-Play From The FBI Trial

[ESPN] - Federal prosecutors on Wednesday played a recording to the jury of a phone call in which former Arizona assistant Emanuel “Book” Richardson told aspiring agent Christian Dawkins that Wildcats coach Sean Miller was paying star center Deandre Ayton $10,000 per month while he was enrolled there.

Prosecutors played the call, which was intercepted by wiretaps on June 20, 2017, to the jury near the end of their case.

Dawkins and Richardson were discussing how to recruit Ayton as a client to Dawkins’ fledgling sports management company.

Let me be honest here. This trial is a joke. This is doing nothing that we all thought it would over a year and a half ago when this all started. When the news first broke we all assumed it would be shady boosters involved and all this craziness.

It’s nothing. And if you’re outraged or mad you’re trying to find a reason to get pissed at, well, nothing.

So Sean Miller reportedly paid Deandre Ayton $10,000? Who cares? On top of that, where’s the proof. Are we sure it’s 100% truthfulness on these wiretaps. Again, just remember that Dawkins is trying to build a business here. Could he be stretching something? This wiretap doesn’t have Miller on it discussing payments.

If anything here’s what this trial is showing:

We need to let third parties pay these guys. First, the schools are paying with scholarships. If we want to say that’s the most that schools should pay, I have ZERO problem with it. That’s what the school’s pay.

But, here’s the problem. These shoe companies (Nike/Adidas/Under Armour) are paying these schools so goddamn much. Part of what they are paying the school is having the right to put their brand on the kids feet. Those kids include someone like Deandre Ayton.

So the problem isn’t that the schools aren’t paying players. It’s that they are intercepting payments from third parties. Parties like these shoe companies. Ultimately it goes back to the NCAA and its member institutions (these schools) not wanting to share the money. If Nike cuts Ayton this check, that’s less money for Arizona to receive. Even though it ends up being a very small percentage of players that receive this sort of payment.

So if you sit here and try to paint this as some dark underbelly, don’t even bother discussing it with me. I’m not going to sit here and shame kids for getting paid when everyone else in the game is. If anything this trial is highlighting how it’s done and how we need to get rid of the people intercepting money and just make it open and free.

Oh, and as for ‘cheating.’ I’m not even buying that. This is just recruiting. What is recruiting? Selling all the perks your university has. Whether it’s facilities, ties to the NBA, jerseys, whatever. If there’s money involved it’s a perk. Guess what? Recruiting isn’t an even base to begin with. So why are we pretending like this changes things?

It sure would be nice just to see the NCAA adapt, but, it would make too much sense.

*This is not true if we all find out K isn’t this super clean, perfect coach, that some think.