NCAA spins fairy-tale fodder
 

Didn't see this. Sorry if repost.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/colum...2&sportCat=ncf

NCAA spins fairy-tale fodder

By Gene Wojciechowski
ESPN.com

Huh? Did the NCAA do what I think it did? Did it basically rule that a father and a third party can actively, brazenly and with impunity shop a player around for hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and the worst thing that happens is the father has to lie low and the third party has to disassociate himself from the programs in question?

Did it just get embarrassed by a rules loophole the size of Jordan-Hare Stadium, the gist of it being: Your old man and another guy can put you on the open market, but as long as you don't know about it, you're good to strap it up for the next big game?

The answers: yes and yes.

"In determining how a violation impacts a student-athlete's eligibility, we must consider the young person's responsibility," said Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president for academic and membership affairs, in announcing the ruling Wednesday that Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton is eligible. "Based on the information available to the reinstatement staff at this time, we do not have sufficient evidence that Cam Newton or anyone from Auburn was aware of this activity, which led to his reinstatement."

Amazing. The NCAA just made it possible for anyone with a blue-chip prospect to shop that player without fear of real punishment. Football player … hoops player -- doesn't matter. All you have to do is say the kid didn't have a clue about the sales price and it's like nothing happened. Plausible deniability.

The Rev. Cecil Newton should thank the heavens that the NCAA carries guns loaded with blanks. Newton's penalty for peddling his son: His access to Auburn athletics is "limited." That's it -- "limited," whatever that means.

This isn't a slap on the wrist; it's a wet kiss on the ring finger. Someone who tried to sell his own son as if he were a football commodity essentially beat the rap.

You think the reverend cares whether he has limited access? Please. In all likelihood, his son has two games left in his Auburn career. And then Cam is off to the NFL, where the auction is sanctioned and done publicly. Amen, to that.

As expected, everyone involved issued the appropriate statements. The NCAA made its molar-less ruling. Auburn said it was pleased with that ruling. And SEC commissioner Mike Slive said, "The conduct of Cam Newton's father and the involved individual is unacceptable and has no place in the SEC or in intercollegiate athletics."

Duh. Of course it's unacceptable. But nothing the NCAA or the SEC did Wednesday is going to make this go away in the future. If anything, Cecil Newton provided a detailed road map for those parents or others looking to make a buck (or nearly $200,000) off their sons. Now everyone with their hands out knows the NCAA is powerless to do anything -- just as long as the kid has that plausible deniability.

And maybe it's just me, but the NCAA's phrase, "Based on the information available to the reinstatement staff at this time" caught my attention. Does that mean investigators are still digging? Or does it mean they've run out of shovels?

And if they are still digging, what happens if they find something after the Heisman vote? Or after the national championship game? Then what?

So Cam Newton is eligible -- for Saturday night's game against South Carolina, for the Heisman and for the BCS National Championship Game, should No. 1-ranked Auburn win the SEC title. But something still doesn't feel right.

The NCAA, for all its countless, mind-boggling rules, is apparently useless when it comes to a father trying to sell his son. Think about that for a minute. It's like a bad fairy tale:

Once upon a time, in the land of the SEC, the quarterback's scheming father and the evil scouting service owner decided they were going to auction off the quarterback to the highest bidder. Best of all, the quarterback would never, ever know.

Then one day, they were ratted out.

The handsome quarterback was ruled ineligible but then instantly reinstated by the NCAA, played for the SEC championship and remained the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, and everyone lived happily ever after.

Meanwhile, Cecil Newton is laughing all the way to his big, bad limited access. He got his happy ending. And, as it turns out, so did his son.

But here's the thing: This isn't the end; it's the beginning. Of loophole chaos.

Good read and agree.

wasn't his father therefore acting as his agent from a legal perspective?

This could be solved by allowing all major universities to provide the SAME base salary amount no matter what school they go to. When you have poor athletes that get money waved in thier face, they are going to take it. The schools are making more than enough money off of the talent they bring into the school. See Reggie Bush's argument about the situation.

Supposedly without his knowledge so I'm not sure.

complete bullshit

when it comes to recruiting etc the student athlete and immediate family have to be consider 1 entity. If not then from now on it will just be some twisted game of cat and mouse with plausible deniability.

parents go to student athelete "we will decide which college you go to, you just play" then they go out and basically sell their kid to the highest biding college. If anything ask the kid anything he can legitimately say "i don't know anything about that".

Doesn't work

The NCAA is the most hypocritical organization. Jesus. You all KNOW that if Auburn weren't in the championship game picture they'd get raked over the coals for this, along with Cam. But no, the NCAA wants to spare themselves the embarrassment, so they set this DANGEROUS precedent.

**** the NCAA. What a joke.

They made the right call in this case.

I didn't know you worked for the NCAA.

I tend to agree. If (and its a BIG IF) he really didn't know about it, then he shouldn't be punished. The obvious problem is how do you prove someone did or didn't know what their parents were doing?

"Hey dad, What's with the new Suburban and Mercedes in the driveway? Oh my god, is that a new 70" flatscreen being installed? What happened?"

"Nothing, just sign the letter of intent on the new kitchen table, you'll be playing for Auburn net year."

IMHO the NCAA has to address this in the offseason and make a rule change or this will blow up in their faces soon. Every baby daddy with a blue-chip son will be asking to get paid "but don't tell my boy, he don't know".

He was over 18 at the time and, legally, his own entity. How could you count he and his father/parents as one entity when, in all other legal instances, they aren't?

So, now that we've got that all cleared up, any chance we could get a ****ing decision, ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, on Tony Mitchell?

Exactly. Even a lie detector test isn't 100% reliable.