A Questionable Decision

They certainly show lack of discipline yadda, yadda – you guys have that covered. But, they also show exceptionally poor decision-making on his part. The latter concerns me at least as much as the former. Lack of discipline is sometimes just a maturity issue. And even when it’s not, undisciplined, lazy people are clearly self-interested. The challenge is to create incentives that they respond to that also get the behavior you want. I teach, and that’s basically what a course syllabus does—it lays out a system of inducements and consequences. In most respects it’s easy to anticipate what to expect from the lazy and undisciplined. Most of what you have to do is pretty straightforward. Whether they get motivated and disciplined is then just an open question.

On the other hand, it’s hard to know what to expect from poor decision-makers, as they often act against their own self-interest. They do stupid things; often because they lack clarity about about what even constitutes their best interests. That’s an intractable problem. How do you manage the behavior of someone who can’t be trusted to act in his own best interests—and by extension, yours? That’s an investment begging to be flushed down the commode.

I can see the first mistake; getting caught violating rules about contact with an agent. A player might figure, “why would an agent put him/herself in a position to have his/her license revoked? This must be okay.” But, who out could have anticipated this stunt at the combine? It’s not so much that he left early, but that he evidently didn’t prep for interviews—raising the question of what exactly he HAS been doing in the almost two months since the bowl game. By his own admission it sure hasn’t been getting in peak physical condition.

I can’t imagine Smith just had lousy representation. If you’re worth what this kid was projecting to be worth, quality representation will find you. So, I cannot imagine that any craven, profit-motivated agent would have encouraged Smith to show up at the combine in poor condition, dissuaded him from preparing for interview questions about his ending at Alabama, or encouraged him to violate protocol by leaving early without notifying anyone.

These things tell me that this kid doesn’t listen to anybody, or that he doesn’t listen to the right people. That has implications for every phase of his life. Even if he could step onto the field and physically dominate from day one, could you trust him during an off-season to stay in shape? Can you trust him to learn the plays and come to training camp ready to contribute? Can you trust him to put in the extra film work to make the right decisions in blitz pickup?

Frankly, I wouldn’t take that gamble with YOUR money, just out of general respect for money—and certainly not in the first round.