Zion

[Pakuni]

So it is okay to violate their scholarship agreement, but not their rookie contract? Would it prevent them from getting a second contract? I honestly don't know.

Is there a legal obligation to play under any and all circumstances contained within the standard NCAA scholarship agreement? If, say, Zion were to state "My knee doesn't feel right and it needs rest" would he be in violation of his scholarship? Would Duke demand he play anyhow? Require independent medical testing?
I honestly don't know.
But a copy of an athletic aid agreement I found online (link below) states that an athlete can lose his/her scholarship if he/she withdraws from the sport before the first competition of the season, but nothing about withdrawing 3/4 of the way through the season. So, unless Duke's standard agreement differs from this one, it would appear Zion would not be violating his scholarship agreement if he stepped away now.
Likewise, if this were a violation, why didn't Ohio State pursue some sort of action against Nick Bosa? Or Stanford against Christian McCaffery? Just because of the bad optics, maybe? Or because there's no actual violation?

I'm not going to read the CBA now, but there's some obvious answers why he wouldn't get a second contract.
1) Having not fulfilled the terms of his first contract, thereby nullifying it, any subsequent contract remains his "first" contract? In fact, the team that drafts him would likely retain his rights under this scenario.
2) What team is going to give a substantial second contract to a guy who hasn't played competitive ball at the top level in more than four years? He'd get a deal, but nobody is giving a max contract. The player would make substantially more money playing out his rookie contract and then receiving the maximum possible on his second deal.

Do you guys know how silly it sounds to legitimately suggest Zion - or any other player - would sit out four years?

https://www.athleticscholarships.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Example-Athletic-Aid-Agreement.pdf

The sponsorship thing I get, though I think they may let those infractions slide once the rookie contract is up and the player starts playing again.

And in the meantime the player loses four years of endorsement money - and a boatload of positive public perception - that can never be recovered.

[Pakuni]

That he's at worst the 3rd pick in the NBA Draft this season even if he does shred his knee.

I just love the reaction to this.  The guy has a minor knee sprain and may not miss a single game because of it, yet he needs to stop playing immediately or he's risking millions of dollars...even though he's still going to get those millions of dollars even if he does blow out his knee, which he won't.

If Duke or Kentucky cared 1 iota about their players they'd just fold their seasons.  Make sure the kids are healthy.

I'd argue Ja Morant, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, etc. are risking far more than Zion is by playing.  By a wide margin really.

Ever heard of reductio ad absurdum?

I do understand that you feel qualified to make Zion's decisions for him and believe you know what's better for him than he and his family. That's fine.  But I'm OK with letting him decide.
And just to be clear, I'm pretty sure nobody here - and certainly not me - has said " he needs to stop playing immediately." I just happen to believe he can decide to do what he believes is best.
Crazy, I know.

[wadesworld]

Ever heard of reductio ad absurdum?

I do understand that you feel qualified to make Zion's decisions for him and believe you know what's better for him than he and his family. That's fine.  But I'm OK with letting him decide.
And just to be clear, I'm pretty sure nobody here - and certainly not me - has said " he needs to stop playing immediately." I just happen to believe he can decide to do what he believes is best.
Crazy, I know.

That's my exact point lol.  The guy has a minor knee sprain and the entire world goes up in arms and says he needs to sit.  There's absolutely, positively nothing out there that is suggesting that has even crossed Zion's mind.  You're living under a rock if you're arguing nobody is suggesting Zion needs to sit out the rest of the year.  It's everywhere, over a minor knee sprain.

[rocky_warrior]

This thread has gone the way of Zion's busted shoe. It's worthless.

Not so subtle reminder to knock off political stuff too. Ruins it for everybody.