SUPER BOWL 2012

Michael Bradley will give up his scholarship to Andre Drummond this season. Bradley will qualify for significant financial aid due to his unique upbringing. He spent a good portion of his childhood at the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home in Chattanooga.



It's a pretty terrific gesture on Bradley's part. I've been told by those close to him that he has been willing to do it from the start, so long as everything works out financially, and that he didn't feel forced into doing it.



Still, the whole situation makes me a little uncomfortable. Why should a kid who obviously has come from a tough background have to forfeit his scholarship to a kid who didn't even decide he'd be attending college until a few days before classes started? And I'm not blaming Drummond here, either. He's 18 years old, after all -- he's allowed to be a bit indecisive, especially when you consider all the various pressures on him to finally make a choice.



I blame a system that allows these types of things to happen. And please, spare me the argument that John Calipari ran a bunch of kids off the team when he first got to Kentucky. You really want to be lumped in the same class as Calipari? Rick Pitino made players give up scholarships too, you say? Doesn't make it any less wrong.



Hopefully, everything works out well for Michael Bradley. We don't know the exact details of what kind of aid he'll be getting, and what kind of loans he may have to pay back. I'm going to assume that Jim Calhoun, who has always looked out for the best interests of his players, has done so here and has made sure that Bradley hasn't been put in a great financial burden.



I'm going to hope so, anyway.