Lawmakers are mulling over a bill they say will protect athletes from unscrupulous agents, but it seems the measure pays more lip service to Michigan voters than it does good for professional-bound athletes.

The Uniform Athlete Agents Act being argued in the state House will not protect student athletes from being used by agents to make more money. The bill requires information of prior signings be shown to athletes, but this does not always protect them from some agents’ unfavorable intentions.

Some agents already feel the NCAA rules are too strict and do nothing but inhibit athletes from necessary items.

Charles Tucker, who represents former MSU basketball stars Mateen Cleaves and Steve Smith, told The State News although the bill provides some protection for athletes, it really won’t solve any problems.

He said NCAA rules already are too strict. But NCAA rules are needed for good reasons.

They are there to protect against small things as well as big things. This is an obvious necessity as seen with the recent case involving loans given to former Michigan basketball star Chris Webber.

The bill also does not deal with the critical problem of retention rates among athletes at universities such as MSU.

The system has been set up to give good athletes all the reasons to go to the NBA and only one reason to stay - an education.

This is a hindrance not only to coaches who no longer can count on their players staying all four years, but also to the universities funding their education with scholarships.

What this bill needs to do is speak out on these grievances and address the real protections young athletes need against eager agents, not just say something about their relations.

For this bill to be effective it needs to penalize agents for bad practices, not just give athletes a 14-day period to figure out where they might have gone wrong.