Sweet Jesus, what is wrong with these people?
In what is a fairly shocking turn in an already shocking case, an NCAA investigator is defending the tactics used by the enforcement staff in the Miami/Nevin Shapiro case. Critically, the investigator claims that this is about NCAA policy at most, nothing more:
This NCAA investigator, who demanded anonymity, raised a different angle to that issue. It broke no law, he said. It didn’t involve a twisted ethical question, he said.
“There are a lot of us wondering just what the purpose of (Emmert’s news conference) was — and why it happened in the first place,’’ the investigator said.
…
When asked if there was an ethical question in an attorney using legal means to depose someone the NCAA otherwise couldn’t, the investigator was certain.
“This was good, investigative work,’’ he said.
The NCAA, raising making it up as you go along to an art form.
Get The Picture 
The NCAA is trying to have their cake and eat it too.
They really believe they are omnipotent and can do any damn thing they please and the peons (schools, “student-athletes”, etc) have to sit there and take it.
Unbelievable.
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Senator-
How far do you think we are from the tipping point where the major conferences realize that the NCAA needs them more than they need it? Membership is voluntary, after all. The split you foresee between the haves and the have-nots may at the end of the day be precipitated by a desire for the haves to not be under the governance of the NCAA as much as any resentment between the constituencies of the two factions. That would be one Emmert press conference I would enjoy watching.
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I think we reached that tipping point a while back. The NCAA continues to stab a dying victim (itself) that’s already bleeding out. The haves could not be happier for the assist. There’s little doubt in my mind that this whole process of realignment and creating a playoff are just the preliminary steps that ultimately lead to a split from the NCAA. The money is the incentive for the schools who are not quite sure they want to make the break. Once it becomes clear that the cash cow is leaving the NCAA farm they’ll be all in.
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Interested on your thoughts here…I tend to agree with the investigator on this one. Obviously we don’t know all the facts, but the deposition in the bankruptcy case was sworn testimony made in public under oath…that’s the kind of info that they should be tracking down, right? And there isn’t any accusation that the questions being asked by the attorney weren’t relevant to the bankruptcy case. I’m just trying to figure out where the legal impropriety is here….is it attending the depo instead of just getting a copy of it?
Anyway, http://www.athleticscholarships.net/2013/01/31/miami-investigation-scandal-raises-ethical-and-legal-questions.htm seems to have a completely wrong interpretation of the law and of the Indiana code of conduct….read the comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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It’s my understanding that the investigator had the attorney ask certain questions at the depo. If true, that’s crossing a line in my book.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/24/3198209/nevin-shapiros-lawyer-said-she.html
Her story is that she was using the depos of the bankruptcy case to gather evidence for Shapiro’s criminal defense and that she wasn’t colluding with the NCAA. The crux seems to be the NCAA paying her/directing her conduct…but in the article linked above, the investigator makes the point that they didn’t pay her billable hours but rather administrative fees more akin to charges for obtaining copies of the depo, etc.
I’m interested to see how things play out and what the specific facts are…but from where I’m sitting right now, I’ve got more questions about the NCAA’s reaction/press conference than I do about the alleged activities. [which I reserve the right to change based upon new info]
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@Blutarsky: I can see the problem for the lawyer, but what’s the problem for the investigator, who isn’t a fiduciary for anybody?
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The NCAA investigative staff is not supposed to show initiative. That office has been rendered impotent for very good reason. As long as schools can keep their dirty laundry at reasonable distance from investigative journalists and federal investigators, it’s understood that schools just hand some ex-coaches 7 figure hush money and hit the reset button. In extreme circumstances, schools forfeit the right to lose money by having to buy 15,000 tickets to the Shreveport Bowl.
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Janis Joplin would like to have a word with you concerning your header on this post.
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