Payton calls Miami situation ‘sad’
Jarrett Payton was in the middle of his University of Miami football career when multi-millionaire booster Nevin Shapiro allegedly began his one-man crime spree against the NCAA rulebook.
In Yahoo! Sports’ exposition of Shapiro’s efforts, it listed 65 current and former Hurricanes who received illegal benefits.
Not only did Payton’s name not appear on that list, the 1999 St. Viator graduate didn’t know any teammates who did anything to get on that list.
“I think it’s a lot of allegations,” Payton said. “I was cool with everybody and it was something I didn’t know.”
Payton played for Miami from 1999-2003. Shapiro claimed his activities began in 2002 and concluded in 2010 when he was sentenced to prison for masterminding a massive Ponzi scheme.
“It was my school and my brothers,” Payton said. “I didn’t like seeing that about us. When that story came out, it sounded like he was trying to brag about things. I think it’s sad.”
While Payton might sound a bit defensive about Shapiro’s accusations, he recognizes college football has problems in this arena.
“I was very blessed to have the family life that I had,” Payton said.
“Who’s to say what can happen to a kid who doesn’t come from a really good background and you approach him?
“These are 19- and 20-year-olds. They’re kids. They’re not grownups. There are people out there struggling.
“It’s definitely a problem that needs to be fixed. If not, programs are going to suffer.”