Category Archives: The NCAA

January 20, 2020 · 6:25 AM

Amateurism is what the NCAA says it is.

This year’s NCAA convention is meeting in California, of all places.  Expect plenty of whining like this:

“It’s plausible that some states that are considering various bills right now could act and have them go into effect even during 2020, and that of course would be very, very disruptive of college sports,” Emmert said. “We’ve got maybe over 30 states that have indicated an interest in or have dropped bills, whatever the number is, with varying implementation dates and varying models of what they think college sports should look like. They’re moving at a faster pace than Congress and a faster pace than can be done through the NCAA legislative process.”

Maybe if you didn’t wait until the states started moving to act, you wouldn’t have that problem.

Of course, that’s not really Mark’s problem.  This is:

“… At the same time…moving from a collegiate model of students to paying employees is utterly inconsistent with what universities and colleges want.”

That’s a fine attitude in a world where what college athletes want isn’t relevant.  Unfortunately for Emmert’s constituents, that’s no longer the world they operate in.  The question is what’s it going to take for them to realize that.

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Filed under Political Wankery, The NCAA

January 16, 2020 · 6:11 AM

OBJcash-gate

$cenes from a post-natty:

And, of course, the inevitable backtrack…

Yeah, good luck with that, dumbasses.  Somehow you managed to stumble on to the one course of action designed to distract from a national championship.  Well played.

Actually, I suspect the party who did play this well is Odell Beckham, Jr., who seems like he knew exactly what he was doing.

If Burrow’s retelling of events is correct, Beckham handing real cash to other LSU players seems likely. After all, was Beckham really in possession of different bundles of real cash and fake cash, and then distinguishing which type he gave to LSU players based on their remaining NCAA eligibility? Sure, that’s theoretically possible, but sounds like a stretch.

Another relevant piece of evidence is the fact that Beckham requested, and received NCAA permission, to provide every LSU player a pair of Beats Studio 3 wireless headphones (which retail for several hundred dollars). On one hand, it’s clear that Beckham wanted to furnish a valuable benefit to LSU players. On the other, Beckham offering advance notice to LSU (and in turn the NCAA) before carrying out a plan suggests he was mindful of amateurism consequences. Was he cautious about headphones but then reckless about cash?

I’m gonna have to go with nah, there.  Beckham wanted to make a point about amateurism and he’s sure done that, with LSU stuck having to clean up the consequences, some of which are self-imposed.

Mind you, I really don’t give much of a shit about this.  The hair-splitting the NCAA is having to do insisting that giving out expensive headphones is okay, but handing over a few bucks directly isn’t, is all the reward I need here.  If they had any sense, they’d figure out a way to starve the situation of any oxygen, but this is the NCAA we’re talking about, so I expect LSU to flail about stupidly for a while.  Now, where’s that bag of popcorn I had a minute ago?

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UPDATE:  The shit show quotient is going off the charts here.

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Filed under The NCAA

January 15, 2020 · 8:31 AM

“This NCAA price-fixing is counter to America’s economic principles of free enterprise.”

I wonder how Mark Emmert’s blood pressure is doing.

NCAA executives met with the Justice Department’s antitrust chief in November to discuss the association’s plan to change its rules that prevent student-athletes from profiting on their names, according to people familiar with the matter.

Several officials, including the NCAA’s chief lawyer, Donald Remy, met with Makan Delrahim to explain the organization’s views on the issue and its thinking on changes it is considering, said the people, who declined to be named because the conversation was deemed confidential. Delrahim, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, meanwhile, told the NCAA that the antitrust division is following the issue, the people added.

The meeting highlights the mounting political pressure the NCAA is facing to change a system that critics have argued is unfair or even akin to price fixing, putting it in potential violation of federal antitrust laws.

“Following the issue”?  What does that mean?

At Notre Dame, Delrahim called amateurism a “laudable goal,” but said it in of itself “does not grant antitrust immunity, and rules designed to promote amateurism need to be carefully tailored so they don’t unreasonably limit competition.”

Oh.

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Filed under Political Wankery, The NCAA

January 14, 2020 · 6:37 AM

Today, in timing is everything

Every time I see shit like this, I think of A.J. Green and Todd Gurley losing significant chunks of a season and get mad all over again.

Tennessee has self-reported an NCAA violation that involved a football player advertising the sale of a replica version of his jersey on Facebook.

The incident was among seven Level III and Level IV violations that Tennessee reported over the last six months. The reports were obtained Monday through a public records request.

The Facebook-related violation involved a player permitting the use of his name and image to promote a commercial project. The player wasn’t identified.

After the player made the post, which has since been deleted, a Facebook friend of his paid the player $300 for four jerseys. The player said the jersey manufacturer was an acquaintance of someone from the player’s hometown.

The player said he intended to give the $300 to that acquaintance but could never reach the jersey manufacturer to confirm shipment.

The buyer was disappointed over the delay in receiving the jerseys and contacted school administrators on Dec. 4. Compliance officials then determined a violation had been committed.

The player paid the compliance office $300, which was refunded to the buyer. The player and the buyer were Facebook friends but didn’t know each other personally. The player also had no direct contact with the jersey manufacturer.

The player received education on the rules and was held out of athletic competition until the NCAA reinstated him on Dec. 19.

So, Nameless Urnge Player was suspended on December 4 and reinstated on December 19.  How convenient for everyone concerned.

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Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange, The NCAA

January 10, 2020 · 6:43 AM

For want of a (pinkie) nail

I’ve got to give some credit to SI.com’s Michael McCann for writing an entire column on the legal ramifications of the Mays family saga.  If you’re looking for an end game on Cade’s transfer waiver request, this is probably as good a suggestion as you’ll get:

Mays would seem to have a more compelling waiver argument by arguing that a transfer to Tennessee would reflect family hardship. Such hardship is an accepted rationale for a waiver. Mays would need to show that the transfer is motivated by a recent injury or illness to an immediate family member. He would also need corroborating documentation from the Vols’ athletic department that he would be allowed to depart from the team to provide care to this family member. Under NCAA rules, this family member must be located within 100 miles of the university.

Mays could argue that he is transferring back home to help out his parents, particularly his dad, in light of the hand injury. His parents’ lawsuit, which details the suffering of Kevin Mays, could help him in that regard. While the injury occurred more than two years ago, it stands to reason that Kevin Mays’s recovery—which has included multiple operations—has not gone as well as he hoped. Perhaps he needs care from sons Cade and Cooper, both of whom will be with the Vols next season. Kevin Mays is also from Knoxville, the same city as the University of Tennessee, meaning the 100-mile stipulation would be easily satisfied.

That would explain why Mars has indulged in a public pissing match with Greg McGarity.  Playing the family hardship card, I don’t think Georgia’s cooperation is necessary to get the waiver, so crap like this is merely gratuitous flexing.

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Filed under Georgia Football, See You In Court, The NCAA

January 9, 2020 · 7:50 AM

Upon reflection, a few passing thoughts on the Mays departure

First of all, if Cade wants to go, that’s his choice.  I can’t say I admire his taste in jersey colors, but I’m not going to knock a kid who wants to play somewhere else.  Besides that, there was nothing stopping him from jumping into the portal before the bowl game; to his credit instead, he showed up and played hard.  So, more power to him and good luck.

That being said, I’m really fascinated by the way his departure is being engineered to generate a greater likelihood of a transfer waiver request being granted by the NCAA.  Remember, as Mark Schlabach explained yesterday when he broke the news, under SEC and NCAA transfer rules, Mays would have to sit out the 2020 season.  He’s already a sophomore, so if he’s keen to get to the NFL, that’s counterproductive without a waiver.

And that’s where it gets interesting.  First of all, his family has hired The Guy.

Mars is even more The Guy now than he was when Justin Fields retained him, because he’s currently associated with the NCAA.  Which may seem strange to you and me, but it sure isn’t to Mars.

In essence, the Mays family has figured out how to weaponize Auburn’s approach to compliance matters in the realm of transfer waivers, which, quite frankly, is brilliant.

Mars or no Mars, though, you still need a reason to underpin the request, and that’s where things appear to be, um, more artificially induced than in Fields’ case, where Mars had the good fortune of another student-athlete making just the right kind of racial comments to fuel Field’s waiver request.

Here, instead, we’ve got the sudden, conveniently timed appearance of a family lawsuit against the University of Georgia.

In a lawsuit filed Dec. 5 in the State Court of Clarke County, Kevin and Melinda Mays, parents of Cade Mays, are seeking damages after the father’s right pinky finger was partially amputated on the hinge of a folding chair as he attempted to stand up.

The lawsuit is seeking $3 million for Kevin Mays to pay for bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and attorney fees, according to court documents. It is seeking another $500,000 for Melinda Mays for a “loss of consortium.”

Other defendants include corporate furniture retailer DeKalb Office and Mity-Lite, the manufacturer of the folding chair.

The incident occurred in Sanford Stadium’s club level when Mays’ parents accompanied him on an official visit on Dec. 15, 2017.

(As an aside, “The injury to the finger has kept Mays from work including duck hunting, real estate and hay businesses.”  Mr. Mays has an interesting and varied career, to say the least.  But I digress.)

I suppose we’re about to hear some fairly lame argument that the legal confrontation between his parents and the school makes Cade uncomfortable remaining with the Georgia football program.  I say it’s lame because either there’s been legal maneuvering going on over the past two years leading up to the filing of the suit that presumably hasn’t bothered Cade, or the Mays family just decided all of a sudden to seek compensation for the injury, in which case we’re back to some remarkably convenient timing.

On one level, I really don’t care, because I think kids should be able to transfer freely once in their undergraduate career.  But the rank manipulation of the NCAA transfer waiver process does rub me the wrong way, especially in like of how fickle the organization appears in cases like Luke Ford’s.  If this works, and I’m pretty confident that Mars will succeed, it’s just going to open a whole new front of manipulation.  Congrats to all involved for making that happen.

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UPDATE:  Hoo, boy, shit’s gettin’ real now.

The lawsuit, obtained Wednesday by Knox News, was filed on Dec. 5 in the State Court of Clarke County in Georgia.

The Georgia Rivals.com affiliate first reported the lawsuit on Wednesday afternoon, hours after news broke about Mays’ transfer plans.

“The Mays family has never said a word to anyone about Kevin Mays’ lawsuit,” Mars wrote to Knox News. “The timing of the news stories about Mr. Mays’ lawsuit makes clear that UGA leaked this story to sports writers today after Cade delivered a letter to Kirby Smart late (Tuesday) explaining the reason he’s leaving Kirby’s program.

“In fact, one sports writer I spoke with earlier today confirmed that’s how he found out about the lawsuit. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that UGA is continuing to take the low road about the lawsuit, but in my opinion, directing sports writers to Mr. Mays’ lawsuit set a new record low for UGA Athletics.”

It is to laugh.  First off, the lawsuit is a matter of public record.  Second, the idea that Greg McGarity is directing a cabal of beat writers to embarrass Mars’ client is a real hoot.  Third, “a new record low”?  Buddy, you have no idea how low things can get in Athens.

That being said, I do wonder if this is a sign we’re about to usher in an era when McGarity doesn’t play nice.  Whatever that might result in, it wouldn’t be anywhere near a record low.  Probably not, though — more like Mars is trying to bully McGarity.

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UPDATE #2:  Greg speaks!

126 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football, The NCAA

January 7, 2020 · 6:05 AM

Eh, what do we know?

Food for thought…

Not a prediction, but what would the NCAA do if it turned out that not letting players earn money for their NIL rights depressed fan interest?

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Filed under The NCAA