http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...-nfl-draft-underclassmen/stories/201612210068
Joe Starkey: David DeCastro is absolutely right about Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette
December 21, 2016 12:00 AM
By Joe Starkey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Christian McCaffrey basically sacrificed his body at the altar of Stanford football. He did everything. He handled the ball 748 times the past two years, via run, catch and kick return. He even played a little defense.
Now, suddenly, people are questioning his character. Now he’s catching flak because he wants to focus on his life’s work — the NFL — rather than play in the Sun Bowl.
The*Sun Bowl?
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Is that what we’re talking about here? A meaningless, made-for-television exhibition game that delivers a nice paycheck to the boss (Sun Bowl director Bernie Olivas made $158,500 in 2012) and to Stanford University ($2.15 million) but gives nothing to the players besides maybe a PlayStation, a refrigerator magnet and the sweet memory of playing in the Sun Bowl?
Listen, I’m all for sweet Sun Bowl memories. I’m sure every Pitt and Oregon State player, down to the second-string punters, will be reliving that 3-0 classic from 2008 at team reunions for decades to come.
But in the case of McCaffrey and LSU running back Leonard Fournette — who is skipping the highly prestigious Citrus Bowl — let’s be real: They are making perfectly sensible decisions, and their schools were lucky to have them this long.
Does anybody believe a specimen like the 236-pound Fournette wasn’t ready for pro football long before this? He was, of course, but was forced to remain in a rigged system that doesn’t allow adults to enter the NFL work force (average career length: 3.5 years) until they are three years removed from high school.
And it’s the athletes who are selfish?
McCaffrey and Fournette undoubtedly watched Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith lose millions when he tore up his knee in the Fiesta Bowl last year. The two are protecting their interests, same as coaches do, and all evidence suggests their teammates understand.
Of course they do. Athletes are onto the fact that college football is about cold, hard cash and that very little of it flows back to them, except in the form of tuition, which would be really cool if degrees led to jobs. Degrees don’t necessarily do that anymore, especially when they are in “general studies” or some such major that athletes are herded into, either to stay eligible or to have enough time to focus on their full-time job (football).
I asked Steelers guard and ex-Stanford player David DeCastro if he believes other players will follow McCaffrey and Fournette’s path.
“Yeah, I think so, especially if they’re not in the playoff games,” DeCastro said. “Be smart, you know? Look forward to their future. Makes sense to me. Definitely a good move on their part.”
Meanwhile, delusional criticism rolls in from everywhere. Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott tweeted the following: “All these young guys deciding to skip their bowl games. I would do anything to play in one more game with my brothers in scarlet and gray.”
Yo, ‘Zeke: You could have played in, like, 14 more games with your brothers, but you skipped your senior season! I don’t blame you. Why blame these guys?
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi had this to say about players skipping bowls: “That’s not how our guys operate. Our guys are team players.”
Wait, so guys who leave before phony bowl games aren’t team players?
OK then, what about coaches who leave? They’re supposed to set the example, right? Narduzzi used to work for Mark Dantonio, who bolted Cincinnati for Michigan State before the Bearcats’ bowl game in 2008 (the fabled International Bowl) and had no intention of coaching that game before Cincinnati hired Brian Kelly.
Dantonio put his personal interests above his team. Same as McCaffrey and Fournette.
People continue to want to speak for McCaffrey’s teammates, which is odd, because they’re speaking for themselves.
Here’s tweet from Stanford receiver Trent Irwin:
Here’s an Instagram post from defensive end Solomon Thomas:
Let me repeat: Players are becoming more enlightened every day. Fewer need to be reminded that they are pawns in a multibillion dollar industry, brought in to be chewed up and spit out like pieces of inventory. Blocked from the NFL for three years. Two of them have taken action, even as fans, coaches and former players crucify them in the name of “loyalty.”
Christian McCaffrey took the ball 748 times.
Let him leave in peace
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