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Andre Smith update

Dallas4Bama said:
Ok TomJones76 I'm not going to pile on you, there are plenty of people on here who will do that for me. What you might be missing is the fact that there are insurance policies available for that and they don't involve agents. That's if you are concerned for him from an injury and loss of income standpoint.

Other than that I can't help you except to say "stop drop and roll" cause the flames are going to get hot.
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That's true...but how do you get an insurance policy if you don't have the money to pay for it. I don't know his financial situation but I am sure those policies are pricey.

I totally agree going through an agent is against the NCAA rules & he shouldn't have done that.

But, what do you do if you come from a poor background & can't afford the insurance policy?

Just...kind of a "catch 22" situation...
 
Tide n True said:
Guys, he was talking about Andre's decision making being a factor in his suspension. Why add that line about being responsible if Andre had absolutely no part in this? Clearly, some folks--out of their love and respect for Andre--are trying to take all of the blame off his shoulders. There is certainly some blame, otherwise Saban would have worded his statement differently.
I like Andre and hate that this happened, but from what I've heard from a writer who is in NO this very minute--and who text messaged me the news about the suspension well before it was reported (I've saved it with the timestamp if I need to prove it to anyone)--Andre got involved in a situation that he could have avoided. [EDIT: That's all I was told. There was no additional information given, as much as I tried to pry]. This whole "Andre didn't know a thing" bit simply doesn't wash. Let's be honest with ourselves.
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Ditto. My thoughts, as well.
 
Not going to get into the good/bad/ugly of it, but just to comment on the insurance piece. If you want that sort of policy you can buy it. It is not as expensive as you would think (from the insurers perspective it's pretty low risk for a healthy athlete -- especially one who has only one game left). And I am pretty sure there are NCAA approved ways of financing the premiums if you need to. I'm confident our compliance staff could direct any player who felt interested to such coverage (e.g. Johnson, Caldwell, etc.). Now, you won't get a policy in the amount of a guaranteed first 5 pick contract amount (figure $25-30MM) but you can get plenty enough to be comfortable if the worst does occur. And it pays off even though you can use your degree to earn a living like the rest of us do.
 
First and foremost, we have a game Friday night with Utah an Andre will not play no matter who's at fault.

As far as Andre, I find it hard to believe that something bad enough to get him suspended from the Sugar Bowl and "sent home" could go down while he was totally unaware...but, what do I know...he may have been oblivious too the situation. The NFL is about to make him a multi-millionaire, if he was unaware, like bamaslammer said...he'd better get aware.
 
tomjones76 said:
That's true...but how do you get an insurance policy if you don't have the money to pay for it. I don't know his financial situation but I am sure those policies are pricey.

I totally agree going through an agent is against the NCAA rules & he shouldn't have done that.

But, what do you do if you come from a poor background & can't afford the insurance policy?

Just...kind of a "catch 22" situation...
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First, the end doesn't justify the means (uh...no pun intended but deserves a chuckle nonetheless).

Second, regarding the payment of premiums for such a policy, premium financing is available with future earnings power being the collateral (reference the NCAA insurance link that I provided back on page 5 and quoted below).

For those who are interested, the NCAA (nearly 20 years ago) accounted for the potential insurance needs of star players, including the need for financing of premiums. Reference the attached link:

[URL="http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=4369"][URL]http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=4369[/URL][/URL]
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Well, I have been through this whole thread and haven't seen this anywhere. If I were Andre Smith, with my college career apparently over, I would begin to look for the closest thing to an honest, respectable agent I could find. I'd most certainly not use either of the guys that were involved in this mess.
 
Alabama Larry in Ky said:
I don't worry about things I can't control, we all should have learned this the past 8 years.

Good Luck to the big guy I'll miss you and you are a great person.
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Exactly. We can't control what's happened with Andre. Our team can control the things they need to do to beat our opponent without him.
 
I have a hard time believing that Smitty could possibly be back next year, but here's the reports:

A person who spoke to Smith on Tuesday said the Outland Trophy winner has not ruled out returning to play for the Crimson Tide in 2009, if he is given that option. He plans to return as a student for the spring semester, the source said, and will meet with coach Nick Saban to discuss his situation when the bowl game concludes.
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Andre Smith still deciding his future, has not yet ruled out a return to Alabama... - The Rap Sheet - al.com

Alabama junior left tackle Andre Smith said earlier today that "it's possible" he could return to the Crimson Tide for his senior season in spite of the situation surrounding his suspension from Friday's Sugar Bowl.

"I haven't decided yet," Smith said. "I still have to talk Coach Saban. ... I haven't talked to him about it yet."
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Would Andre Smith still return? "It's possible" - The Bama Beat - al.com
 
I haven't seen this yet. I hope the AL AG finds enough to put together a strong case.
The Birmingham News

The state attorney general has begun reviewing potential evidence of alleged contact between University of Alabama football All-American Andre Smith's and a sports agent, the AG's office confirms.

Chris Bence, spokesman for Attorney General Troy King said, "We are aware of allegations and taking steps to review the allegations."

The next step would be to determine if there is enough evidence "to make a compelling case to begin an investigation," Bence added.
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Ah, BamainBoston forming an opinion on Troy King's investigation into the matter, within 48 hrs after it was announced, no less. The irony.

I don't personally care for him either, but if he's looking into the matter and it can cause the agent major stress and possibly jail time, let's be glad that it's a good thing for Alabama and sports in general. Furthermore, we really don't need to turn this into a political thread.
 
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Hopefully this will turn out to be better than initially expected. Still not enough info out there to know what transpired exactly.
As for Smitty returning, I just don't see it happening, and after all this he may not have that choice anyway. Either way, I wish him the best of luck. Our team will miss him in the Sugar Bowl, but hopefully have had enough time to shift the Oline and have some continuity there to make up for it.
 
I likewise wish him the best of luck and fortune in his future endeavors and greatly appreciate his play at Bama these past three years. Wish his career at Bama coulda' ended differently... but it is what it is.

No, I don't think he returns to Bama, even if somehow he's eligible to do so. Nor should he, IMO. If he's positioned to harvest substantial pro money, he oughta' do it. Life is uncertain.
 
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