These days, most college sports fans are in consensus that major FBS athletes are not fairly compensated. Sure, they get good food and board, but they don’t receive a fair return on the profit they generate for the NCAA.
With that being said, there are definitely perks to being a major D-1 athlete. One example: when you make a football bowl game, you get sweet stuff. In the case of the Belk Bowl, the athletes on both teams get 90 minutes to spend a $450 gift card on anything in Belk (in addition to each receiving a Fossil watch).
Arkansas senior tight end Jeremy Sprinkle broke the rules of the exercise, however, and now he’s paying for it. During the shopping spree Tuesday at the Belk department store in SouthPark Mall in Charlotte, Sprinkle was accused of attempting to shoplift, according to SEC Country.
Sprinkle has been suspended for the game between Arkansas (7-5) and Virginia Tech (9-4), which is currently live on ESPN.
“Jeremy’s suspension has been known by our staff and players for several days so we’ve had a chance to prepare our game plan accordingly,” coach Bret Bielema said in a press release. “Throughout his career and this season as a graduate student-athlete, Jeremy has displayed numerous times the qualities we want to represent our program. We have standards within our family that must be upheld on a daily basis and unfortunately he failed to do that in the last week. Jeremy’s suspension isn’t drug, alcohol or violence related but one that will cause him to miss his final game as a Razorback.”
Sprinkle reportedly attempted to take items that were worth more than the $450 he had available, and though the “shopping spree” guise certainly muddies the waters, that is still shoplifting.
Sprinkle was a key member of the Razorbacks’ offense, hauling in 33 receptions for 380 yards and four touchdowns this year. Sprinkle is an NFL prospect—NFL Draft Scout has him slotted as the ninth-best tight end in this year’s draft class.
This was a silly mistake, and one he no doubt regrets, but here’s hoping he simply learns from it and it makes him a more successful pro.
