Four of the most absurd reasons college football players have been ruled ineligible in recent years

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With everyone still reacting to the news that Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has been ruled eligible to play following his gambling scandal, it made me think about just how far the sport has shifted from just a decade prior.

Some fans may not realize it, but the pendulum has swung so far in the other direction so quickly it would give anyone whiplash.

In just a few short years, we went from Jim Harbaugh being read the riot act for lying about buying recruits some cheeseburgers while at Michigan to players being granted seven years of eligibility or gambling nearly six-figure sums on various sporting events.

To illustrate how different the “amateur” sports landscape looks compared to past eras, I’m looking at four of the most absurd reasons college football players were deemed ineligible to play in the past.

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If Sorsby was caught betting on his own team back in these days, the NCAA probably would have exiled him to Mongolia, but times have changed.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

4. Jeremy Bloom forced to choose between Olympic endorsements and football at Colorado

Colorado Buffs helmet resting on the sidelines at Mountain America Stadium

Colorado wide receiver Jeremy Bloom was a unique two-sport athlete.

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While most kids are trying to decide if they want to continue playing lacrosse or soccer for some Division II program, Bloom was a wide receiver for a power conference program while simultaneously living out his dream of being an Olympic skier.

One of the perks of being an Olympic athlete is, of course, the sponsorship deals that come with it (hello, Wheaties box), but the NCAA thought that was a bridge too far, and deemed Bloom ineligible as long as he was accepting endorsements.

Bloom argued he needed the money to be able to afford to train with the U.S. Olympic team in Chile ahead of the 2006 Winter Games, but his appeal was shot down and he had to give up his dream of playing both football and skiing.

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When the concept of Name, Image and Likeness was first proposed, this is likely what everyone had in mind: kids being able to make money from endorsements without being smacked down by the NCAA.

It obviously got way out of hand, but Jeremy Bloom is the perfect example of how absurd a pre-NIL world looked.

3. No more YouTube for UCF’s Donald De La Haye

Brad Wing holding the ball as Donald De La Haye prepares to kick at Alamodome

Instead of being a two sport athlete, UCF kicker Donald De La Haye was a football player with a YouTube channel.

This is something you see quite often these days, as literally every football player fancies himself an amateur content creator, but in the prehistoric ages of checks notes 2017, that kind of thing was frowned upon by the powers that be.

After playing for the Knights for a couple of seasons, De La Haye was given a choice by the NCAA: shut the YouTube channel down or give up your scholarship as well as your spot on the team.

Surprisingly, De La Haye chose the latter, but not before suing his school in the process.

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It ended well for both parties, however, as De La Haye has been invited back to UCF for several events and games, while his YouTube channel, “Deestroying,” has amassed over 6.4 million subscribers and nearly 2 billion lifetime views.

De La Haye probably made the right call in the long run, as he likely made far more money as a YouTuber than he ever would have being a placekicker for a few years in the CFL.

2. A.J. Green pays the price for selling his jersey

A.J. Green of the Arizona Cardinals looking on during a football game at Lumen Field.

Many people know A.J. Green from his days in the NFL, playing for both the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals while racking up 10,000 receiving yards and seven Pro Bowl selections in the process, but before that, he was a five-star, can’t-miss prospect at the University of Georgia.

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Green’s first two seasons in college went according to script and the lanky downfield threat was as good as advertised, earning first-team All-SEC honors in back-to-back years.

During his junior year in 2010, however, Green was introduced to the long arm of the law by way of the NCAA’s compliance office.

The standout Bulldogs pass-catcher was suspended for the first four games of the season for selling his game-worn Independence Bowl jersey for — are you ready for this — a whopping $1,000.

The big stink of it all was that Green, whether knowingly or not, sold the jersey to a sports memorabilia collector from North Carolina, but either way, Green being suspended for a third of what would end up being his final collegiate season (and being forced to repay the $1,000 he made to charity) seemed a bit harsh for the crime he committed.

It obviously didn’t affect his draft stock, as Green went fourth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft, but it still had to sting that his final year with the Bulldogs was cut short over something as petty as a $1,000 payday, something most football players make from one sponsored social media post these days.

1. Dez Bryant’s meeting with Deion cuts college career short

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant warming up on the field at AT&T Stadium.

Before his days as a Pro Bowl wide receiver in the NFL, Dez Bryant was already a legend in the making at Oklahoma State.

His 2008 season in particular, in which he caught 19 touchdown passes, is the stuff of legend in Stillwater, so heading into the 2009 campaign, it was widely believed that Bryant would be on the short list of Heisman Trophy contenders.

In his first three games of the season, Bryant had 350 receiving yards to go along with four touchdowns, before an all-too familiar foe smacked him down with a brutal punishment.

The NCAA ruled Bryant to be ineligible to play college football for a whole calendar year, meaning he wouldn’t be able to hit the field for the Cowboys until September 2010.

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What did Bryant do to warrant such a harsh penalty? He violated NCAA bylaw 10.1, which includes “unethical conduct.”

What really happened, though, was that Bryant lied about exchanging phone numbers with former NFL cornerback Deion Sanders and meeting up at his house to work out with him.

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Bryant appealed the ruling which was ultimately denied, and the Oklahoma State legend was forced to watch his team from the couch for the rest of the season before declaring for the NFL Draft.

A college kid couldn’t even lift weights with one of his idols without getting the hammer dropped on him back in 2009.

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I realize lying to the NCAA probably isn’t the smartest move, but to essentially end Bryant’s college career over something so trivial feels like an overreach of authority.

It was a controversial ruling even at the time, but with the benefit of hindsight, the NCAA comes off like full-blown dictators in this instance.

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