"It's not fair that certain teams get to play with their soft balls while players on the other teams have to play with the same balls they've had for years", says Stanley Reese, host of Stanley's Stinkers, a weekly pick-em show that predicts the losers in college football. "The NCAA closely scrutinizes almost every aspect of football except for the player's balls. It's time they step up and get a feel for what's right".
Reese has started an online petition on Change.org and is looking for 50,000 signatures to present to the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The petition is asking for the governing body to check each players balls on the fifty yard line, in front of all the fans, before every game. The drive also asks that the NCAA televise an official checking the kickers balls during the coin toss.
"As a former player, I know how embarrassed I would be if my balls got busted on national TV. I think the fear of getting caught playing with soft balls would be enough to stop any infractions before they get started", Reese contends.
The plea for a change in the rules, according to Reese, arises from the penalties handed down to USC earlier this season when Trojan coach Lane Kiffin was caught playing with under-inflated balls. Reese also cites a similar situation nineteen years ago when an Auburn punter was accused of playing with over-inflated balls.
"It doesn't matter whether you go out there with big balls or little balls. They should all be the same", Reese declares. "The fact that it's been almost two decades since the last player was accused of playing with altered balls makes me think that the NCAA does not take this sort of thing seriously. Fifty throusand signatures on a petition should make them think hard about the rules".
Reese is asking for all fans of every team to take a stand on this issue. You can sign the petition on Change.org or go to his website, www.StanleysStinkers.com, for the link. There is no cost to sign the petition.
"As a fan, I want my team to be able to play with the same balls the other team uses. We might even need to do away with the ball boy just to make sure that the players are the only ones who get to touch the balls. That could be my next step", Reese concludes.
Reese plans to hand deliver his petition to the NCAA at the National Championship in Miami.
(The petition is live at https://www.change.org/
