UCLA students are calling for Justin “baby P. Diddy” Combs’ scholarship
Justin Combs, son of entertainment mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, is heading to UCLA this fall to play cornerback for the Bruins, but some on campus think he should be doing so on his father's dime.
Combs was awarded and accepted a scholarship from former coach Rick Neuheisel last November. New coach Jim Mora and his staff honored the scholarship and Combs signed his letter of intent in February. The fact that Combs father was just named the wealthiest artist in Hip Hop by Forbes Magazine really has nothing to do with the son. But as tuition continues to climb at the UC-system school, some are questioning whether the $54,000 scholarship could go to someone more needy.
"UCLA's athletic department needs to consider the fact that perhaps there is another athlete on the football team, who could perhaps really use this scholarship," UCLA student Neshemah Keetin told CBS Los Angeles.
Have these people lost their dang minds? Combs should not be held to a different standard just because he comes from a wealthy family. Combs earned the scholarship because of his athletic skill. He also achieved a 3.75 GPA at New Rochelle Iona Prep in Upstate New York. He's as deserving of that scholarship as any of the other 285 athletes who are on full scholarship at UCLA.
Yes, Combs is a bit ostentatious. When he committed to UCLA, his family put out a press release complete with quotes from his father. When he was 16, he was featured on the MTV show "My Super Sweet 16" where he proclaimed himself the "Prince of New York" while taking his date, singer Nicki Manaj, to his ridiculous party at a New York club called M2. He ultimately received a $360,000 Maybach as a birthday present.
I'm sure seeing him drive that around campus won't sit well with much of the student body, but Combs isn't the first — and he won't be the last — wealthy student-athlete to earn a scholarship at any school, not just UCLA. Think about how many children of professional athletes end up on scholarships at different universities? No one ever calls for them to pay their own way.
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