That’s why it drives me nuts when people blame everyone else but the athletes when a school gets in trouble by the NCAA because a player accepted gifts from an agent. More times than not, the athlete seeps into the background while everybody points the finger at the agent, the school or the coach for not keeping better track of what their players are doing in their free time.

First of all, did your parents know what you were doing at all times when you were growing up? Even when you were living under the same roof as the people who had authority over you, there were still ways to deceive them. So this idea that coaches should play babysitter to their players is ridiculous and unrealistic.

Furthermore, it’s easy to blame the agents when NCAA rules are broken, but this isn’t the movies – there are no clear cut villains here. Agents have been around forever and while the ones who don’t abide by the rules are schmucks, nothing has changed. There will always be agents who only see athletes as dollar signs and who will therefore offer gifts in hopes of generating business.

We know this, and seeing as how we know we know this, what’s the one way to stop this growing issue? What’s the only way to ensure that players won’t get themselves or their schools in trouble when an agent comes knocking on their doors?

Just don’t accept the gifts.

Whaa? You mean, as long as I don’t accept the five c-notes, the free booze, the new suit and the hooker that this agent just offered me, I won’t get in trouble?

Look, I get it – college kids are stupid. I’m still stupid and I’m several years out of college. But at some point these athletes have to wake up and realize that a party isn’t worth throwing their football careers down the toilet. Nobody is holding them at gunpoint, so it shouldn’t be that hard to say, “You know what? Thanks, but no thanks. I’d like to keep my scholarship and not screw over an entire program a la Reggie Bush. I pass on Reggie Bush.”

The ironic thing is that if they waited, everything that these agents are offering them would still be there once they’re out of college. Money, women, alcohol, video games – those things aren’t reserved only for college athletes. So as long as they make good choices and keep their nose clean, they’re going to get what they want in the end.

Is there anything that can be done to help the players? Sure. The NFL holds a rookie symposium every year in efforts to educate young players on everything from financial matters to how to deal with friends and family members seeking money. Every college or university with a football program could conduct the same seminar so that players know how to handle situations in which an agent approaches them offering them gifts. It shouldn’t be something that’s too hard to set up, and seeing as how college football makes millions of dollars a year, it shouldn’t require the NFL to step in like Nick Saban would have you believe.

But in the end, whether college football hosts its own symposium or coaches keep athletes under 24-hour surveillance, it’s still up to the players to make good decisions.

They still need to take responsibility for their actions.