Why This College Basketball Player May Have to Give Away $20,000

'In my eyes, it's just money,' he says

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A college basketball player won $20,000 for making a half court shot at an Oklahoma City Thunder NBA game — but he might not be able to keep it.

Why? Cameron Rodriguez is a sophomore basketball player at Southwestern College. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics told the school’s athletic director that if Rodriguez keeps the money, he’ll lose his amateur status — and his right to play college hoops.

Southwestern is appealing the NAIA’s decision, according to the Associated Press, suggesting the prize money should be seen as a scholarship towards Rodriguez’s education. Rodriguez already has a partial scholarship for the school.

No matter what happens, Rodriguez isn’t sweating the potential of losing the money.

“In my eyes, it’s just money,” he told AP. “I know I’m a college kid who can use some help, but my love for basketball and my passion for the sport — it’s worth more to me than $20,000.”

[AP]