SuppliedWith the Jay-Z Brooklyn Nets and Drake-Toronto Raptors relationships catching headlines all over the sports world, it’s pretty obvious that rappers are the best hype men in sports.
Upon hearing that Bishop Gorman High School wide receiver Cordell Broadus — the son of Calvin Broadus, also known by his stage name Snoop Dogg — committed to play for the UCLA Bruins football program, one can’t help but think that the Bruins wanted Papa Broadus more than his son. Digging a little deeper, Diddy’s son Justin Combs is a redshirt sophomore defensive back on the squad as well. In the shark tank that is NCAA college football recruiting, has UCLA enlisted rappers to boost their program?
Well frankly, yes. Though Broadus was widely recruited by a laundry list of contenders, the four-star recruit passed on several perennial-contender teams such as Oregon Ducks and Notre Dame Fighting Irish to land in SoCal. Snoop has gone as far as renouncing his USC Trojans fandom, tweeting photos of himself in USC kit and UCLA gloves with the caption, “that was then, this is now.”
UCLA signing Diddy’s son — who stands at just 5’7” and 170 pounds — is a much more obvious publicity stunt by UCLA, as Combs has seen action in just a handful of games last season. Having been on the radars of mediocre squads like the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and Iowa Hawkeyes, the Bruins scooped Combs and his father up and into the spotlight of UCLA football.
It’s understandable that the staff at UCLA would want such high-profile figures associated with their team, as their fathers bring more than hip hop enticement. Snoop has advocated for grassroots youth football for years in Compton, and will likely do the same for the UCLA athletics program. At the very least, Diddy can afford to overbid everybody else on team auction items. The proud fathers will do genuine good for the Bruins programs and NCAA football in general.
Though they are undoubtedly there to some extent because of their high-profile fathers, Broadus and Combs are men in themselves. Their papas will bring attention to the program, but they will go on being student-athletes. Meaning, if they can’t perform on the field, or in the classrooms, they’ll be gone. Combs has been on the UCLA Athletic Director’s Honour Roll since his enrolment at UCLA, and Broadus’ athletic and academic merits certainly make him deserve a spot on a high-level team. Snoop and Diddy will be the hype men, but don’t be surprised if Broadus and Combs keep pace with their team and classmates. The presence of the two hip-hop princes in UCLA will do great things for the team and the sport.
