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| | Wednesday, March 1 | |||||
Scripps Howard News Service | ||||||
| Chris Porter might have more to worry about than missing the
remainder of the basketball season for the Auburn Tigers.
Alabama State Representative Gerald Allen, who sponsored and helped
pass updated legislation pertaining to illegal activity involving
sports agents and student-athletes several years ago, said Porter
appears to be in violation of state law.
Acceptance of money by a student-athlete is a Class A misdemeanor. The charge carries up to a $1,000 fine and up to 70 hours of community service. The infraction of paying a student-athlete is a Class B felony. It carries with it a penalty of no less than $5,000 and up to 20 years in prison, two years being the minimum. "It's evident some serious violations have occurred and we want to take a look at it," Allen said. "Of course, we don't have the facts yet, and circumstances naturally play a role. It looks like (Porter) will have to deal with some issues himself." Allen said according to protocol, a state institution -- in this instance Auburn -- must inform the state of its findings in addition to the NCAA when it has concluded its investigation. Allen anticipates an appointment with state Attorney General Bill Pryor soon to discuss options on how the handle the situation. "The Lee County district attorney (Nick Abbott) could very easily get involved, because we do have a law on the books concerning this," Allen said. "It could very easily come under his watchful eyes. Also, the attorney general has the power to step in and do some things and make recommendations." Under present legislation, a student-athlete has a window of 72 hours once contacted by an agent to inform an official of his institution. Allen said the three-day span is intended to give student-athletes the benefit of the doubt so they can turn away from illegal activity. It is still unclear at what point this season Porter accepted two installments amounting to $2,500 from a representative of an agent. Allen said the current code could allow "an institution to recuperate some losses in revenue for whatever plays out. If a student-athlete goes off and signs a multimillion-dollar contract and leaves the institution damaged, it can recover losses." Like any sports fan, Allen said he is troubled by the Porter incident. The fact it infringed on rules that his legislation was intended to hinder is equally discouraging. "We can legislate different pieces and seem to control some people who want to go against what we are trying to do, but there are greedy people who undermine the law," Allen said. "It's just a sad note of affairs that regardless of what we do to try to prevent things, someone is going to go ahead with their self-interests. It's a sad day for any institution to face."
(Jeff Lockridge writes for the Birmingham Post-Herald in Alabama.) | ALSO SEE  South: Fretting without PorterPorter admits taking money, ruled ineligible by Auburn Porter's father 'shocked and disappointed' Porter problem could derail Auburn; Florida romps by 29  | |||||