Where Was Self-Punishment When I Was a Kid?
Self-Flagellation - What would be happening at Ohio State if it were run by religious fanatics
Here’s time #8,756 I’ve said this – the NCAA is a joke.
It didn’t exactly take the Amazing Kreskin to see this coming when star quarterback Terrelle Pryor and three other offensive starters were cited by the NCAA last December for selling rings, jerseys and other memorabilia as underclassmen. But 6 months later, Ohio State vacates all 12 wins from the 2010 season, including the Sugar Bowl win, and placing itself on two years’ probation as penance for fielding multiple ineligible players. Now, they’ve announced Pryor would have been ineligible for all of 2011 and he has been banned from all contact with the team for 5 years.
The Buckeyes’ self-flagellation comes as part of their official response to accusations of major NCAA violations involving both the ineligible players; Pryor, running back Dan Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey, offensive lineman Mike Adams, and reserve defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, not to mention disgraced former head coach Jim Tressel’s season-long cover-up.
Am I supposed to be impressed by this?
First of all, it’s about 6 months too late. When Ohio State first tried to keep their Bucknuts out of the NCAA deep-fryer last December, all they were doing was avoiding the inevitable. The thinking was if you let the NCAA get its pound of flesh up front it, they could get away with a slap on the wrist and maintain the hope the NCAA would be placated and not care to do anymore digging.
That means by its very nature it is disingenuous, and it didn’t work. Granted, they managed to keep the offending players eligible for the Sugar Bowl and they kept the regular seasons wins intact.
However, everything backfired once Jim “Cheatypants McSweatervest” Tressel got caught in a season-long cover-up, which is the only reason the NCAA even decided to return to the case at all.
Is this what the Buckeye band will be spelling come the NCAA hearing next month?
Now, Tressel is gone, Pryor has been banished, and the Buckeye house of cards keeps falling. The first go-around at self-punishment was all about avoiding the record books being wiped clean. Well, that’s going to happen anyway, and it begs a question. By banishing Pryor, now what is Ohio State trying to avoid?
Think about it. Right now, Ohio State is still getting off light. Even if the 2010 season is erased from the books, they still get to pocket the cash those games generated. Plus, in light of the heavy scholarship losses and two-year bowl ban the NCAA dropped on USC last year for essentially the same kind of violations, an eraser to a record book is the aforementioned wrist slap.
Ohio State is again hoping it can avoid harsher (and deserved) penalties by looking “proactive” and by throwing Tressel under the proverbial bus. The problem is the NCAA seems to be buying this bilge. Ohio State is singing a big song to the NCAA to the tune of admitting major violations of NCAA regulations, but in the same stanza claims they should not face harsh punishment because no Ohio State official other than Tressel was aware of player violations.
Now for the big question: since when did “self-punishment” become acceptable? I ask because I really could have used this twenty or so years ago. There are plenty of times I would have copped to breaking curfew if it meant nobody found out what I was doing at 2 a.m. For me as a kid, that moment of truth always came when it was time to sneak back into the house. For Ohio State, they get to try to sneak into the house next month when they have a hearing in front of the NCAA. That will be the moment of truth; will the Buckeyes’ self-flagellation be enough, or will the NCAA actually hold them accountable?
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When I look at the NCAA I simply think the Roman Catholic church and the way they dealt with the pedophile scandal within their midst and the fact they merely .. moved the priests to other dioceses to carry on their depraved behavior ! The NCAA is simply no different as to how they choose to mete out their supposed punishment to schools violate their rules . Some schools they will punish with impunity while others will be given a slap on the wrist .
Until the major BCS conferences and the AD’s of the schools hold all of their subordinates accountable as well as the athletes then this bs will continue unchecked . NCAA President wants to institute a per diem payment to the kids but he’s already been met with a resounding “no” from certain conference commissioners and university presidents . Way too much money in this pot that they simply don’t want going into the pockets of the kids and that’s what this is all about .
The class action suit brought against the NCAA by former UCLA player Ed O’Bannon is barely mentioned as of late because no wants it being discussed within the public domain at all in particular the NCAA and the numerous entities seen as the defendants .
tophatal …….
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I just saw on the “ticker” Oklahoma wants to self-impose themselves with probation and give back wins. That seems to be the chic thing to do these days…turn yourself in. I think the schools believe if they do it they’ll hit the reset button on being able to cheat for a decade or so before the NCAA comes around to visit again. In the end, it doesn’t matter. Even if Auburn winds up being found to have bought a kid a lollipop out of season and loses their BCS title, we all still know who won it.
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JW
How ’bout them Tar Heels and Butch Davis ? Way to go !
Chip Kelly is just as much to blame for the Ducks’ problem and his recent interview stating that until an independent inquiry has been conducted and the findings made pubic he won’t speak on the issue. The guy is an ass having suborned agents being on the campus and associating with the players all in contravention of NCAA rules .
tophatal ………
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The most comical thing about all this is that the NCAA is the one with the ultimate say in these matters, as if they know what the hell they’re doing, and not looking out for their own (financial) interests.
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