The NCAA

So I read in the paper that Tennesse is under a self imposed probation for their recruiting violations.  I hope that's the extent of it and the NCAA doesn't add more sanctions.  I think that the NCAA needs to take a step back and re-evaluate the rules and regulations to determine if they need to make a philosphical change in terms or what they are regulating and why.  I'm sure they will take my advice, because the NCAA is a very humble, self analyzing, honest organization seeking to serve the best interest of the student athletes (I wrote that with a completely straight face, no smile or smirk.)  I recently read an article with a comment from an NCAA employess that said the NCAA rules are so exhaustive that coaches can't possibly know all the potential violations. (Like my wife can't possibly know how many pairs of shoes she has.  I know how many I have...2 pair black dress shoes, 2 pair brown dress shoes, 2 pair brown casual, 1 pair black casual, 2 pair of tennis shoes, 1 pair of mow the grass tennis shoes, 3 pairs of flip flops/sandals, and 1 pair of golf shoes.  That makes 14.  I'd like to see my wife do that off the top of her head like I just did.)  Anyway, schools have compliance officers that try to monitor compliance with the rules (like a super strict Mom and Dad), but even they can't keep up with all of the potential violations, many of which are so obscure that people wouldn't think they are violations.

Take for example the Terrell Pryor situation at Ohio State.  Why is it an NCAA violation for a private business owner to give a discounted or free tattoo to Terrell Pryor?  If I own a business, can't I choose what price to charge?  Or who to give discounts to?  I'm sure if I were a business owner I wouldn't make my sister or my mother or my child pay for a product or service that I provide (cousins would definitely be full price, aunts and uncles a nominal discount)....so why couldn't I do the same for Terrell Pryor if I so chose?  I understand that they are trying to prevent abuses to the system, to prevent Terrell (or whomever) from getting a cheap car just because he plays football, or getting a nice paying job that he just happens to never show up to work for because he's too busy getting tatted up.  (I know I ended that sentence in a preposition, but I'm not rewording it.  I'm bablling about college football, and that doesn't warrant 100% compliance with grammar conventions as long as I am reasonably coherent.)  Or even worse than the discounted tattoos, what about selling a jersey?  Or a ring?  AJ Green got in trouble for the same stuff last year.  If it is your personal property, what's wrong with selling it?  He didn't pilfer merchandise from the athletic department and sell it for profit, the items were his.  Again, I understand that allowing it would open Pandora's box for boosters to pay obscene amounts to a player for merchandise as a way to get around actually paying him.  I just think that to a great degree the rules are impossible to comply with and impossible to police, so why bother? I guess the publicity of a bust like the ones at OSU and UT help scare straight the other schools (I typed that with a completely straight face).  I think schools do whatever they think they can get away with.  I have had a little bit of experience with the recruiting process with an athlete at my school and have talked with principals at other schools.  Every, and I do mean every, school violates the rules about contacting athletes during non-contact periods, coming to the school and accidentally on purpose bumping into them.  Every single school did this.  Every one.  Now maybe those 25 or 30 schools are the exception, and all the others follow the rules to the letter.  But it's more likely that they're all doing it (dang mom, come on, everybody else is doing it!)....and this is a rule that they are very aware of.  There are hundreds more rules that they are not aware of - I can't imagine that their compliance with those is much better.    It just seems like a losing battle.  D-I sports, at least football and basketball, are big business, maybe the NCAA should start treating them as such.

Now, after saying all that, I do think Pearl was wrong.  He knew he committed a violation and then lied about it.  And we all know how that is..."it's better to just be honest with me now than to lie and be in more trouble".  Yeah right, I've never seen anyone evade trouble by being honest, from a kid with mom and dad to a student in the principal's office to an adult with the police.  You are getting in trouble anyway.  But being honest is the right thing to do, and though it might not eliminate your troubles, it will minimize them later.  Bruce should have known better....my 9 year old certainly does.

Speaking of....Cole caught some fish the other night, pic is below.