>ESPN is reporting tonight that the guy that bought the jersey from A.J. misrepresented himself as a “financial adviser and memorabilia collector.” The mans name is Chris Hawkins and he is a former player at the University of North Carolina. Hawkins told ESPN’s Joe Schad “I am not an agent.” From reading the story Hawkins does have a relationship with a couple of agents so it’s more than likely that he was using A.J. to get on his good side and then later suggest an agent for him.
A.J. did a very stupid thing by selling his jersey but the more this story comes out the more it looks like the punishment is excessive and undeserving. Four games for selling a jersey to someone who mis-represented himself? Seems like a huge overreaction by the NCAA. I get it, they are trying to make a point to the players that only the NCAA and the colleges can profit off of the players name until they turn pro. Point taken. NCAA needs to fix this. One game and paying back the money seems more like the fitting punishment. At maximum this needs to be reduced to two games. It’s not like A.J. is out beating up policemen or living the high life in a hotel for half price. He sold a jersey to someone who lied to A.J. about who he was. A.J. made a mistake, it’s a mistake by the NCAA to take away one-third of his final season at Georgia.
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