NEW YORK (CBS Sportsline) -- Tommy Zbikowski, a third-team All-America at safety at Notre Dame, made his professional boxing debut with a 49-second, first-round knockout of the totally outclassed Robert Bell at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.The story goes on to say that Zibby earned $25k for the fight, but after that says that he can be a pro in boxing and amateur in football only if "he does not receive money for endorsements or commercials". That seems to contradict an NCAA by-law...
12.1.2 Amateur Status if Professional in Another Sport. A professional athlete in one sport may
represent a member institution in a different sport. However, the student-athlete cannot receive institu-
tional financial assistance in the second sport unless the student-athlete:
(a) Is no longer involved in professional athletics;
(b) Is not receiving any remuneration from a professional sports organization; and
(c) Has no active contractual relationship with any professional athletics team. However, an individual may remain bound by an option clause in a professional sports contract that requires assignment to a particular team if the student-athlete’s professional career is resumed.
12.1.2.1 Professional at Later Date. If the individual later becomes involved in professional athletics while still a student-athlete with remaining eligibility, the individual would be considered to have violated the principles of ethical conduct per Bylaw 10, thus rendering the individual ineligible for intercollegiate competition.
I am sure that ND and Zibby and Don King all got together to make sure that eligibility is maintained, but my cursory glance of the rules suggest otherwise.
1 comment:
Ok, so this just screams ND bias to me, and I've wondered about it since they announced that he would be boxing professionally. I'm sure that someone in the NCAA or at ND would tell you there are no double standards, but come on . . .
Post a Comment