Did LeBron Put the National Title in Jeopardy?
If you haven’t heard LeBron provided the entire Ohio State football team with some new Beats headphones. It was a very generous gesture by James. He obviously never went to Ohio State, but he’s been a lifelong fan of the Buckeyes. As many of you already know, LeBron has a large endorsement contract by Beats which made the gift possible. Personally, I think it’s great what LeBron did.
Anyway, here’s running back Ezekiel Elliott’s reaction.
But, now the real question we have to wonder is this an NCAA violation? Are students allowed to accept a gift from someone like LeBron? Well, the answer is yes. Elliott is right. Gene Smith wouldn’t let them have the headphones if it was a violation. Don’t worry Buckeye fans, LeBron didn’t put the National Championship in jepordy. He was just doing something nice for his team that’s all.
But let me explain why it’s fully legal under NCAA rules. The NCAA doesn’t permit preferential treatments of certain players. LeBron gave the headphones to every single member on the team so there was no preferential treatment. That is the bottom line. You also aren’t allowed to pay for performance, but this gift doesn’t fall into that category either. However, Ohio State and Oregon are allowed to give gifts worth up to $400 for players in the national title game, and that’s exactly what this is.
Basically, there’s no need to worry about this situation, so don’t listen to the media. The Buckeyes will be ready to play on Monday and there will be no penalties for the gift. This is just another example of everyone overanalyzing something LeBron did, it’s quite ridiculous to be honest. I personally think it’s awesome what he did, I just wish he’d buy some for me next time, haha. Go Buckeyes!
@CST_JacksonF
