By Dan Wetzel
SportsLine.com
Senior Writer
This article was written about high school basketball players and the National Letter of
Intent. However, it applies very well to high school baseball players too.
They'll line up in high schools throughout the country Wednesday.
Top basketball players with pens in hand to twice sign their name to the fourth page
of the National Letter of Intent.
College recruits don't know what they're getting themselves into by signing a
NLI.
Often a local newspaper will snap a photo, and a collection of family, friends, coaches
and teachers will be there to take in the big event.
There will be smiles and hugs and a lot of excitement over an act that is perceived to
guarantee four years of free education and a spot on a college basketball team. It should
be a moment to celebrate years of hard work.
"Signing day is portrayed as Christmas morning, everyone opening their presents, everyone
counting up what they brought in and then people ranking who had what," said Michael Lee,
a Southfield, Mich., labor lawyer. "When in effect, many young people have just signed away
their legal, if not constitutional, rights."
It's the rarely spoken secret of the National Letter of Intent, a four-page document that
virtually every Division I institution strongly encourages high school prospects to sign.
What is thought to be guaranteed really isn't. What people believe it represents, it doesn't.
What is meant to be a celebration, should really be a final chance for someone to closely
read it.
If they did ...
"They would probably ask what cracker jack box they got this contract out of," said
Don Cronson, a New York-based professional sports agent.
Actually, "contract" might be too strong of a word.
"A contract is usually, 'I give you something, you give me something,'" said Lee, a partner
at Amberg, Firestone & Lee, a firm specializing in the union side of labor law. "If there
is not mutual consideration, it cannot be a contract. In this case, the individual student
doesn't get anything. This is essentially a one-sided pledge."
The Collegiate Commissioners Association -- not the NCAA -- administers the National Letter
of Intent (NLI). The CCA is a volunteer organization made up of more than 500 colleges and
universities, including virtually all Division I schools.
It was created, according to the CCA, in 1964 for "the basic purpose of reducing recruiting
time and expense for the institution and limit recruiting pressure on the prospective
student-athlete."
What happens when a recruit signs a NLI is he or she is locked into that particular school.
The player must attend the institution for at least one year or face a stiff, two-year loss
of eligibility penalty.
Once you sign, there is virtually no way to not attend that school without incurring the
penalty.
But the NLI does not guarantee the school you are signing with will save you a spot on
the team, provide you with a full scholarship (although a separate financial aid
requirement from the school should be provided at signing time) or even guarantee your
acceptance into the institution as a student.
Essentially the recruit is guaranteeing the school is the only place for him, but the
school is guaranteeing nothing. It can drop the recruit at any time.
"Clearly, this is a one-sided document in favor of the institutions," said Arn Tellem,
president and CEO of SFX Basketball, an agency that counts Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady
among its clients. "It requires a one-way commitment from the player and not a mutual
commitment from the school. There is no commitment to even admit the player to the school."
In defense of the NLI, the document is voluntary, and though recruits often feel pressured to
sign or lose a potential scholarship, they do not have to. Also, recruits under 21 must
have the document co-signed by a parent or legal guardian.
"The prospective student-athlete does not have to sign the NLI," said Sandy Atkins,
assistant director of the NLI. "The prospective student-athlete chooses to sign it."
If the athlete decides not to sign a letter, he or she risks the schools filling up
their scholarship allotments without them.
The athlete has the right to merely enroll at the school without the letter ...
but the coaching staff can simply say, "Sorry, we've already given out our scholarships
to players who did sign letters of intent."
But here's the kicker: The schools can say that anyway.
It would hurt the school's recruiting reputation, probably a great deal, but it has
happened: A school might sign six players to letters of intent despite having scholarships
for only five ... and then later try to talk one of the players into walking on without
the financial assistance.
Signing a letter of intent doesn't even protect a student-athlete from that.
The NLI has a comprehensive website -- www.national-letter.org -- that answers many
questions, and though one-sided, the document is straightforward. There is no fine print.
"It is rare we get complaints before signing in comparison to the number of NLI that are
signed," said Atkins, who works out of the offices of the Southeastern Conference in
Birmingham, Ala. "Afterward, some want to get out of it and they call and complain."
For recruits, there are few benefits to signing.
The main result is it will stop other schools from recruiting you, ending the phone calls
and courtship. And that is why the NLI was created, to bring some order to the recruiting
process for schools. It basically was designed to stop schools from stealing each other's
recruits.
"Once you sign it, all recruiting ceases," Atkins said. "The kid is not going to be
called or kept on being recruited by other coaches."
But though a little peace and quiet might be appreciated, that could be attained by
putting the burden of penalty on the coach, not the player. Certainly a less-punitive
document could be used.
"It strikes me that the concern is an inability of the schools to trust each other and
abide by the rules," said Lee. "If that is the case, then implement some penalties
against schools that engage in that conduct.
"Let's say someone left because of some improper conduct," Lee continued. "Why not
terminate the coach or assistant coach? Why can't they be held responsible? If you are
going to have a kid forfeit the ability to participate, then why not forfeit the right
of the coach to participate? If there is no disincentive to engage in that conduct, then
(coaches) are going to do it."
Instead, in an effort to control coaches, the CCA has devised a system that punishes
the teen-ager.
"Institutions spend time and money recruiting the student-athlete," Atkins said. "If
the kid decides at the last moment to go to another school, then the institution is out
their time and money after recruiting the prospective student athlete. It does work both
ways."
Critics remain concerned about the appropriateness of powerful, often public, institutions
of higher learning being involved in such a contract.
Though recruits should be aware of what they are signing, and the NLI isn't responsible
for the misperception of what the document guarantees, just because a school can get away
with it doesn't make it right.
The document is ostensibly voluntary, but many schools will balk at holding a scholarship
for a recruit that is unwilling to sign.
"This is an example of when two parties of extremely unequal bargaining power, which
happens between a major public university and a high school kid, come together," said Lee.
"The powerful side often takes advantage of the situation."
A group of attorneys and sports agents, provided a copy of the 2002-03 NLI by
SportsLine.com, all said they would discourage any client from signing such a document.
They had additional concerns about the following sections:
4. Basic Penalty. I understand that if I do not attend the institution named within
this document for one full academic year, and I enroll in another institution participating
in the NLI program, I am not to represent the latter institution in intercollegiate
athletics until I have completed two full academic years of residence at the latter institution. Further, I understand that I shall be charged with the loss of two seasons of intercollegiate athletics competition in all sports, except otherwise provided in this NLI. This is in addition to any eligibility expended at the institution at which I initially enrolled.
"In the law, most contracts are forbidden from placing unduly harsh penalties in
their provisions," Lee said. "If you work for a company, you might sign a non-compete
clause and cannot work somewhere. But it doesn't say you can't work anywhere on planet
earth for the next two years. It is not supposed to blow the party gaining something
completely away."
Said Tellem: "The penalty phase is excessive. A two-year penalty is just extremely harsh."
6. Appeal Process. I understand that the NLI Steering Committee has been authorized to
issue interpretations, settle disputes and consider petitions for a full release from the
provisions of this NLI where there are extenuating circumstances. I further understand
that its decision may be appealed to the NLI Appeals Committee, whose decision shall be
final and binding. "That's pretty illusionary," Lee said. "In an appeal process, there
ought to be some possibility that the player would win. The only criterion is extenuating
circumstances that are not defined. In order to have a legal appeal, there ought to be
some possibility of winning."
7-f. Letter Becomes Null and Void: Recruiting Rules Violation. If the institution
(or a representative of its athletics interests) named in this document violated NCAA
or conference rules while recruiting me, as found through the NCAA or conference enforcement process or acknowledged by the institution, this NLI shall be declared null and void. Such declaration shall not take place until all appeals to the NCAA or conference for restoration of eligibility have been conducted.
"So there is no determination until all appeals are restored?" Lee said. "How long
would that take? That is not going to happen quickly."
19. If Coach Leaves. I understand that I have signed this NLI with the institution and
not for a particular sport or individual. For example, if the coach leaves the institution
or the sports program, I remain bound by the provisions of this NLI. "This is a type of
situation where the coach is the one who is usually crucial to cementing the relationship,"
Lee said. "It seems to me if the coach, who is an employee of the university, has the
freedom to come and go, then the athlete should have the same freedom."
The basic advice for any student or parent about to sign a NLI is to be cautious and
to contact the school and explore other options, including retaining an attorney to
draft your agreement between recruit and school.
And if you feel you must sign to supposedly hold your place in a recruiting class --
even if the document does not guarantee you that spot -- do so after much contemplation.
"The only reason to sign this is if you may not have any place else to go and need to go
to school somewhere," Lee said. "I think the schools understand they have this leverage,
and they use it. For the players know this is the place you will want to go almost no
matter what. If the coach leaves, if you are hurt or not, it is almost impossible to get
out of it."
Reprinted From:
SportsLine.com
