There has been a lot of media attention lately about the situation in Los Angeles involving Sean Diddy Combs’ son, Justin.
Justin is a soon to be UCLA football player in 2012, having received a merit scholarship from the University, worth a reported $54,000. Some people are furious that a person as wealthy as P. Diddy will not have to pay for his son to go to college.
The rapper, fashion designer and entrepreneur, P.Diddy, has made a pretty nice living for himself and easily has enough to send his son through college. (Diddy’s estimated net worth according to Forbes is $500 million dollars).
Justin Combs is a 5-foot-9, 170 pound defensive back with a 3.75 GPA. Combs turned down scholarships from Illinois, Virginia and several other schools to attend UCLA. The kid can play football, WATCH his highlight tape.
So the million dollar question: Should he have taken the scholarship?
This shouldn’t be as big of an issue as people are making it out to be, yet it’s big enough for someone like me to still be writing about it.
Here’s my take: There are thousands of wealthy people whose children end up getting full rides to play a sport, including many former professional athletes whose kids end up playing in college. Has it been an issue that Michael Jordan’s son isn’t paying for his son to play ball? I haven’t heard it. The same can be said about someone like Andrew Luck who, because of wealthy parents, was able to stick around Stanford for another year and get his degree instead of jumping into the NFL.
Justin Combs is good at what he does and earned a scholarship to play at UCLA. He may continue to be criticized during his stint at UCLA, but I think this is a win-win for all involved. Not only will Diddy be at each game to watch his kid (expect to see him on the jumbo-tron also), but the students will also have an example of a smart and athletic contemporary, who doesn’t expect to ride his dad’s coattails into fame. Kudos to this kid. (And, of course, think of all the scholarships that will be funded when this kid is an alumnus and makes donations to the school who supported his dream.)