Saban vs. Sports Agents

Never at a loss for words, Nick Saban has been up front with his distain for sports agents. The New York Times has interviewed a few agents to get their reponse:

With a Player Under Investigation, Saban Criticizes Agents

Imagine that, somebody picked up the phone and asked questions.

I will take exception to this statement in the article:

“The solution is not to ban the N.F.L. and agents, it is to get the administration and coaches more involved in educating the players and bringing the agents into a proper forum,” Brad Blank, a Boston-based agent, said. “There are programs where they have a period where agents can visit the players, but it is all done right in front of the coaches, and it gives the guys who are going to try and slip in the back of a dorm less of an advantage.”

By all accounts, the programs in question spend lots of time trying to educate players and control interactions. It does not appear to be working against the bottom feeders out there.