A veritable truckload information about the NCAA infractions committee and their handling of the case against star University of Southern California star running back Reggie Bush’s impermissible benefits has recently been released into the public domain, and it isn’t good reading for the NCAA.
Bush, who received impermissible benefits that have brought the Trojan football program, dominant in the Pac-12 for the best part of a decade, back to the field in recent years, is long gone, earning his millions in the NFL, but it’s the plight of former running backs coach, Todd McNair that is suddenly shining an unfavourable light on the NCAA Infractions Committee, who levelled various penalties at USC, including scholarship restrictions, a two-year Bowl ban and probation.
For those who think the NCAA’s ability to properly and fairly police college sports is crumbling, then this seems to be more fuel for the fire.
McNair was found to have known about Bush’s impermissible benefits, but failed to report it. He lost his job at USC and was slapped with a one-year ‘show cause’ notice from the NCAA, which required any school wanting to hire him during that period to explain why they should be allowed to do so, and await a final judgement from the NCAA. McNair wasn't hired during that period. In fact, he hasn’t worked in college football since.
That brings us to a lawsuit McNair filed against the NCAA in 2011. It’s gathering momentum now, after the Los Angeles Times obtained a series of e-mails sent between various members of the NCAA infractions committee after the newspaper, along with the New York Times, waged a long battle to get them unsealed.
It doesn’t make good reading for the NCAA, but will doubtless please McNair’s legal team, who are suing for lost earnings after having his name dragged through the mud. He claimed that the investigation was one-sided. Based on the documents that I’ve read, McNair has a pretty good case. It would seem that the NCAA committee were far from being the unbiased organisation they should be.
Here are some of the most interesting comments:
- USC were criticised by the committee for hiring Lane Kiffin to replace Pete Carroll as head coach. They mused about whether they could use the hiring of the controversial Kiffin as another way to demonstrate that the school displayed a lack of institutional control.
- Rodney Uphoff, in an undated memo, declared that USC needed “a wake-up call”.
- Uphoff unbelievably compared the ethical conduct case against McNair to circumstances surrounding the Oklahoma City Bombing, claiming that their evidence against the Trojan coach was stronger than that in the case against Terry Nichols, who was convicted as Timothy McVeigh’s accomplice.
- Shep Cooper called McNair “a lying, morally bankrupt criminal, in my view, and a hypocrite of the highest order.”
Interesting reading, isn’t it? Some of it, I’m sure, is approaching legal dynamite, and it makes you wonder how the committee could possibly preside in an unbiased manner – as is their charter – when their thoughts are as detailed above. Cooper’s thoughts about McNair surely come pretty close to being slanderous?
I can only imagine the delight of McNair’s lawyers when this treasure trove of information came out, and the long-held notion by many around the USC program that the NCAA had a pre-conceived result where the Trojans were concerned is as clear as the day from these documents. At least we can now understand why the NCAA fought so hard for so long to ensure these documents remained sealed.
McNair will barely need to turn up to court daily with this stuff out on the table. The NCAA, aside from any allegations of being corrupt or unbiased in dealing with USC are certainly guilty of being stupid. I mean, they’ve left a traceable e-mail trail for the world to now view, and have just about made McNair’s case as a result. And these are the people running college football? Not very encouraging, is it?
The very fact that the NCAA committee seem to be taking it upon themselves to teach the Trojans a lesson is worrying. The entire NCAA organisation is supposed to be unbiased. They are to examine the facts as they are presented, and make rulings based on those facts, not on the personal thoughts and feelings of the committee.
I liken this to a judge ruling a person guilty of murder because he didn’t like the look of the man, rather than based on the evidence. I understand McNair and Bush were guilty, and I accept that USC needed to be punished, but I can’t help but wonder if, say, this were Oregon State or Maryland or Florida Atlantic, whether the punishment would have been as severe?
When I think about USC’s sanctions as compared to those handed to schools like Miami-FL and Ohio State, I shake my head. The infractions committed by Buckeyes and Hurricanes players were far more widespread. At USC, it was just Reggie Bush (okay, and basketball star OJ Mayo, too) doing the wrong thing. At Ohio State, a group of players were busted for selling memorabilia illegally, and at Miami-FL, there’s a trail of infractions over a long period of time.
Even Penn State’s sanctions for the Sandusky sexual abuse nightmare were lessened almost immediately by a surprisingly-forgiving NCAA. There was no such let-off for the Trojans, who, in my mind, copped a punishment that far outweighed their crime. It seems to ring true, when you compare it to the examples I stated above. Yet, somehow, the Trojans copped the worst of it.
The way the NCAA – based on these documents – appear to have handled the case is a worry. It’s as though they thought themselves to be judge, jury and executioner. Read the documents and see for yourself: they demonstrate a fairly clear case of malice towards USC. In terms of this being a catalyst for change in the future, I suppose it’s a good thing that this is out in the open. You can count on there being far more scrutiny on the NCAA in the future.
Unfortunately, it’s a little late for USC.
One of the darkest periods in the history of University of Southern California football (and basketball) history is back in the spotlight, and it’s not good news for the NCAA and their crumbling ability – at least, crumbling in the eyes of most external observers – when it comes to making even and sensible judgements on NCAA infractions.
By now, I’m sure you know the story of the improper benefits obtained by USC football star Reggie Bush and USC basketball star OJ Mayo? Bush lost his Heisman trophy, the Trojan football squad was stripped of wins and national championships, hit with a two-year postseason Bowl ban and hit with scholarship restrictions that have hurt the team’s depth, and continue to do so even now.
Todd McNair was the USC running backs coach, and he was found to have had knowledge of Bush’s impermissible benefits. He was found guilty of same by the NCAA and lost his job at USC. Furthermore, he was slapped with a one-year ‘show cause’ notice from the NCAA, which required any school wanting to hire him during that period to explain why they should be allowed to do so, and await a final judgement from the NCAA. Ultimately, McNair wasn't hired by another school during that period. In fact, he hasn’t worked in college football since.
Which brings us to McNair’s lawsuit against the NCAA, launched in 2011, and gathering momentum now after the Los Angeles Times obtained a series of e-mails sent between various members of the NCAA infractions committee after the newspaper, along with the New York Times, waged a long battle to get them unsealed.
It doesn’t make good reading for the NCAA, but will doubtless please McNair’s legal team, who are suing for lost earnings after having his name dragged through the mud. He claimed that the investigation was one-sided. Based on the documents that I’ve read, the NCAA committee were far from being the unbiased organisation they should be. So far, it’s not even funny.
Amongst inflammatory other comments, USC were criticised in these e-mails for hiring Lane Kiffin to be their head coach, and actually wondered if they could use the hiring of the now-former Trojan head coach as another way to demonstrate that the school displayed a lack of institutional control, which is a program’s death-knell in the eyes of the NCAA.
Most worryingly of all are the twin faux pas’ from committee member Rodney Uphoff, who, in an undated memo, declared that USC needed “a wake-up call” and then compared the ethical conduct case against McNair to circumstances surrounding the Oklahoma City Bombing, claiming that their evidence against the Trojan coach was stronger than that in the case against Terry Nichols, who was convicted as Timothy McVeigh’s accomplice. The fact that the committee is even of a mind to connect the two is absolutely shocking.
Another committee member, Shep Cooper, called McNair “a lying, morally bankrupt criminal, in my view, and a hypocrite of the highest order”. That’s legal dynamite. How can a committee preside honourably and fairly and in an unbiased manner when their thoughts are thus? What Cooper said about McNair is bordering on slander, if not actually crossing that precarious line.
It’s flabbergasting reading. McNair’s lawyers, and USC’s, will likely have a field day with this sort of thing. The notion that the NCAA had a pre-conceived result where the Trojans were concerned is as clear as the day from these documents. They acted with malice, and it’s there for all to see. At least now we know why the NCAA fought so hard for so long to try and ensure this explosive evidence remained sealed!
McNair will barely need to turn up to court daily with this stuff out on the table. The NCAA, aside from being corrupt in this matter, have been damn stupid, too. They’ve left a traceable e-mail trail for the world to now view, and have made McNair’s case as a result. Corrupt and foolish, what a combination. And these are the people running college football? Not very encouraging.
The very fact that the NCAA infraction committee seem to be taking it upon themselves to teach the Trojans a lesson is worrying. The entire NCAA organisation is supposed to be unbiased. They are to examine the facts as they are presented, and make rulings based on those facts, not on the personal thoughts and feelings of the committee. Impartiality is the key, and there was little of that, apparently, on the minds of the NCAA team as they torched the USC program.
McNair and USC stand to make a lot of money here, given that the way the NCAA handled their case was far from impartial. They’ve broken a swathe of NCAA bylaws, and the observation that the committee hated the University of Southern California is given credence by both these damning documents and by the light penalties handed to schools like Miami-FL and Ohio State, whose various infractions were far more widespread than USC’s.
At Southern Cal, Reggie Bush was the only guy on the football team taking impermissible benefits. At Ohio State, a group of guys were busted for selling memorabilia illegally, and at Miami-FL, there’s a trail of infractions over a long period of time. Yet, somehow, the Trojans copped the worst of it. Even Penn State’s sanctions for the Sandusky nightmare were lessened almost immediately. If there’d been true impartiality, I can’t imagine the penalties would’ve been anywhere near as stiff.
Don’t get me wrong: Bush and McNair did the wrong thing. That’s not the issue here. The issue is the way the NCAA handled it: violating it’s own bylaws, changing evidence to suit it’s own purpose, communications clearly showing the malice the committee had for the school. That absolute contempt is now out there for all to see. Hopefully, it will be a catalyst for change because the NCAA system is clearly old, tired and, probably, broken beyond repair.
Although, unfortunately, it’s a little late for USC football.
Well, it's been a pretty good seven days for the University of Minnesota University Men's hockey program.
The Gophers, coming off a successful Mariucci Classic campaign in the waning days of 2012 - including a wonderful 8-1 triumph in the Championship game, against the same Boston College Eagles team who ousted the Gophers in the Frozen Four semi-final last year, to the tune of 6-1 - started off 2013 with a bang.
Securing their No. 1 ranking after the shellacking of the Eagles, and with the No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish coming to town, there was a feeling that, potentially, the Gophers would suffer a letdown. After all, the game against BC had been fast, hard and tough from the outset and after such a morale-boosting win to close out the old year, it was always possible that the team would come out flat in another big game.
Thankfully, it wasn't a problem. The Gophers scored early - a wonderful drop pass from Zach Budish for a laser from the top of the right circle off the stick of Nate Condon for a 1-0 lead - and they scored often, out-muscling Notre Dame when necessary, and riding another sterling performance from freshman goalie Adam Wilcox to a 4-1 victory. It wasn't as physical a contest as against Boston College, but the maroon-and-gold jerseys asserted their collective will where necessary. It was a powerful message sent from Minneapolis to the rest of the college hockey world, on top of the one sent at the end of the Boston College demolition: Dear rest of the NCAA, the Gophers are for real.
Three days later - a tough rebound after such a big-time game against the Irish - the Gophers were back in action, against an Alaska-Anchorage team who figured to be pesky. And they were. The Seawolves went up 1-0 in the opening game of the weekend, and after taking a 2-1 lead into the third period, it was a wild final frame that first saw AK-Anchorage go up 3-2 before the Gophers came roaring back, thanks in part to a bad Seawolves penalty - a five-minute major - that sent the big gunners on the Minnesota offense to work. Bang-Bang! Nick Bjugstad scored, and, with fifty-one seconds left to play in a tie game, Bryan Marshall broke his twelve game goal drought with the game winner, and it was Minnesota, 4-3.
Saturday night, the Gophers came out on a mission. Unlike the close game one night before, Minnesota jumped all over the Seawolves, scoring 2-2-3 in the three periods for a commanding 7-1 win that featured Kyle Rau's first career hat trick (which gave him the team scoring lead, which Bjugstad had held for only one night), and, perhaps most important of all, a chance to rest Wilcox midway through the final period. After a ten-save performance, Wilcox rode the pine for the final 7:53, allowing Michael Shibrowski to make a rare appearance, and two saves, and the Gophers ran out the clock, storming to their eighth consecutive victory.
The Gophers maintain their No. 1 ranking heading into this weekend -- the blood feud series against North Dakota, who will be Minnesota's third nationally-ranked opponent in six weeks. It will also be the last regular season WCHA match-up between these long-time rivals. A tough schedule is a good schedule, especially after the weak schedule last year was show up by Boston College in the Frozen Four , and anything above a 1-1 series split this weekend stands the Gophers in wonderful stead heading into the WCHA stretch run.
Notes:
1. Wilcox improves to 15-2-3, best in the WCHA, with two wins this weekend
2. Bjugstad held the team's scoring lead for just twenty-four hours, before Rau's hat trick relegated him to second place again.
3. 2-0 record vs. AK-Anchorage is the Gophers' first WCHA season sweep
4. Rau's hat trick was the first since a 5-goal Bjugstad effort vs. St Cloud State in November of 2011
