Well, as if we needed another completely dull and unfulfilling storyline to follow, it appears our young franchise quarterback may have just got himself wrapped up in a yet-to-come (but probably soon-to-come) investigation of the people currently representing him.
Yay?
I’ll just go ahead and defer to Riley Schmitt of Rant Sports for all the details:
Kohl Stewart was just your average high school recruit until Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder texted him. Stewart was so excited about the text that he uploaded it to Twitter. Unfortunately for him, it might cause him a lot of trouble.
Ponder said he was texting Kohl Stewart on behalf of the CAA. The CAA is also known as the Creative Arts Agency, which is a grouping of sports agents. Now why would Ponder be texting a high schooler about an agency? The kid has not even stepped on a college football field, much less thought about an agency.
Then again, this could easily be someone posing as Ponder and texting Kohl Stewart. It’s unlikely, but possible. The area code is one that is found in the suburbs of the Twin Cities so I would guess it is Ponder.
In the world of social media, Kohl Stewart may have just exposed some dirty practices by the CAA. I am not sure why they had Ponder text him, but I would guess it would be to have Stewart consider being represented by the agency. Then again, the NCAA tends to frown upon agents contacting college players.
Kohl Stewart seemed excited that he was being texted by a pro quarterback but this is going to raise some serious questions about the CAA. It is getting a lot harder for agencies to contact players. Why not use pro players to convince kids to sign with you? It’d be a good theory if you thought you would never get exposed.
I have a feeling Kohl Stewart is going to find himself in the middle of a controversy. Once the NCAA and others find out about this, it probably will not be pretty.
On the plus side, we all now have the first seven digits of Ponder’s personal cell.
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Is it 100 % certain that, this is not just a troller or something in that agenda? Or is this without a doubt Christian Ponder? - Then that wouldn't be the smartest move be our starting QB
Riley Schmitt...
First off, Kohl Stewart is not just your average recruit. He is ranked by many as a top 10 pro style QB. He has a laundry list of scholarship offers from the top programs.
Don’t act so shocked, this is not the first time this approach has been used. Well known sports agent Drew Rosenhaus gets away with this player to player recommendation thing all the time.
The rules governing amateur eligibility and the rules governing sports agent ethics are much more stringent than the NFL’s policy against player to player contact.
Schmitt’s students attempt to make Ponder look bad is nothing but fluff.
Under current NCAA rules, there is nothing to prohibit an athlete from speaking with or getting advice from an agent.
*Bylaw 12.3 reads, in part, "It is not a violation of NCAA rules if a student-athlete merely talks to an agent (as long as an agreement for agent representation is not established)."
I am not sure that this is even an NCAA issue?
High School eligibility rules and guidelines are another issue altogether. IMO, Kohl is more at risk of losing his senior high school year of eligibility than Ponder is of getting in trouble with the NFL.
Why is it ok for a student to get recruited by a college head coach - and possibly get advice on which agents are good and which agents are bad - yet a student is breaking rules by talking to a professional player about agents? The NFL wants the student athlete to make good sound decision when it comes to dealing with NFL agents.
*(Bylaw was from Dana O'Neil espn.com July 30, 2010)
Help me out Adam… Is Ponder breaking any NFL or NCAA rules?
Hey Carl, I think you have done a fine job of summarizing the rules and Ponder's lack of guilt to any rule breaking.
As I said in my portion of the above post, though, this could possibly lead to an NCAA investigation of CAA's tactics and Ponder would likely get wrapped up in that. Distraction? Hopefully not, but possibly.
Thanks Adam,
Yes, this could lead to investigations... If Ponder has met with Kohl Stewart and paid for a meal or a golf outing on behalf of CAA or the Vikings, or even just thrown the ball around with him outside of high school guidelines, yes, that is all it takes for Kohl's eligibility to be at risk.
IMO, the NCAA has bigger fish to fry than investigating this story. However, some local hounds may dig up dirt on this kid if he is not more careful about what he throws out on twitter.
See that? Just another moron exposing himself on Twitter (no Bjohnny, not like that!) This great "look at me, look at me!" technology has claimed another idiot for its own.
Mr. Ponder, you have no reason to be sending texts to a high school kid, just get your ass back in the film room. You're welcome.
*(Bylaw was from Dana O’Neil espn.com July 30, 2010)
Fine Carl,....you'll get an A in the class!
Nothing to see here, please move along.