First former 2 Live Crew frontman, Luther Campbell, a well known Hurricane supporter came out to speak about Shapiro and his shortcomings as a person. Now former Hurricanes boss Jimmy Johnson has some words to say about Shapiro, boosters, and the state of the program.
Former University of Miami football coach Jimmy Johnson called into the "Paul & Young Ron Show" Wednesday morning to weigh in on the allegations of improper benefits involving former booster and convicted felon Nevin Shapiro.
On the "Paul & Young Ron Show", Johnson called Shapiro a "jock-sniffer wannabe" and offered perspective on a number of the aspects of the story:
On Shapiro: "This little scumbag is in prison for bilking a billion dollars from a bunch of people and obviously he's going to embellish the truth a little bit, but I'm sure he took advantage of some of these kids and I hate it for the program."
On boosters with their own agenda: "These parasites hang around every program and the players have got to be smart enough to know that they want something, that they aren't giving out free drinks to them unless they get something in return."
On current UM football coach Al Golden: "He wants to do it the right way. He's very thorough, very detail-oriented. He's gonna be fine, but I hate that he inherits some of this mess."
On the temptation to student-athletes to accept extra benefits: "A lot of these kids come from the inner-city without a penny to their name and some booster wants to buy them dinner. It's hard for them to say 'no'."
First of all I hate to see this go on anywhere, especially one of the true heavywieghts in college football (I know some will disagree with that). There are some saying that Miami should get the death penalty. That's not gonna happen. I have plenty of reasons why, but not all night to discuss them. I don't see how they shouldn't since there were coaches and administrators that knew what was going on. They might get a bowl ban and loss of scholarships but that's it. I still don't see how the Canes escape with a light penalty. They better hope that Al Golden has the nuts to stick around, because I'm sure he didn't see this coming when he signed up for this job. He was sold a bad bill of goods.
Also, Ohio State might want to start kissing up to Terrelle Pryor, especially if he doesn't get admitted into the NFL supplemental draft. It's always the disgruntled athlete/booster that was promised something and didn't get it or never went pro.
Another thing is with the NCAA. Their rules about improper benefits are outdated. I know college athletes are "special". But I'll use this as an example. If I'm a well off individual helping a kid out because his home life isn't that great and I become influential in his decision on where he goes to college, then I'm giving improper benefits. Just because I let him use my expensive car or take him and his family out to dinner or loan him a few dollars to get by, those are improper benefits. Not everyone wants something in return, they just want to see a kid succeed.
Don't get it twisted, I don't feel sorry for Miami. They did this to themselves. I know it goes on damn near everywhere, but to be honest it's almost what you have to do to win big in college football. But you know what happens in the end. Miami or some other big name school gets caught and Fresno State goes on probation.
I wonder how many ex-players will speak out against Shapiro.
