LeBron James says ‘scared’ agents, NCAA created Rich Paul rule
The NCAA seems to have created a rule that is targeted at Rich Paul. LeBron James appears to think that is the case.
On Tuesday, word emerged that the NCAA created some criteria required for agents who wish to represent student-athletes who are interested in testing NBA draft waters. Student-athletes can test their potential position in the draft without losing their college eligibility, which is a change from the past when declaring for the draft prevented players from returning to school. The new conditions require agents to have a college degree and be certified for at least three years. The new criteria appear to be targeted at Paul, an NBA superagent, who does not have a degree.
James, who was Paul’s first client when the agent began Klutch Sports in 2012, believes the rule was created to limit Paul and is the result of the establishment being “scared”.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 6, 2019
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop! They BIG MAD and Scared . Nothing will stop this movement and culture over here. Sorry! Not sorry.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 6, 2019
There could be some good coming from the new criteria; the requirements aim to add greater protection for student-athletes to ensure they are represented by experienced and qualified agents. However, Paul has shown he is one of the best agents in the business, and he didn’t need a college degree to become that. Maybe he was getting too good and this was a way they had to slow him down.
What’s Paul going to do? Challenge the rule, citing his experience negotiating hundreds of millions of dollars in NBA contracts? Or complete some garbage online bachelor’s degree to comply with their new rule? Or maybe he’ll just sit there laughing about how establishments try to change the rules once someone becomes too good.