Say what you want about Holtz, but at least he had the integrity to suspend two of his star players at Arkansas for breaking team rules and keeping them out of the Orange Bowl in January 1978. Playing with subs, Arkansas drubbed highly favored Oklahoma. Link
Now, coincidentally, Saint Tressel of Columbus won’t impose the same penalty on his tOSU players in their upcoming bowl against Arkansas.
But, but, it’s unfair to punish the current players for something that happened a long time ago.
Oh, wait…
Ironically, every single sports radio personality I’ve heard here in C’bus has said they think Tressel will sit these players for at least the opening drive. I’ll believe it when I see it.
I would guess that the death penalty is not ever going to be used again, and that is too bad. The NCAA should drop it every 5-10 years just to keep schools on the straight and narrow.
Did SMU deserve a penalty that bad? Yes they did, it was a joke the way they coddled their star players. OTOH, USC probably deserved the death penalty for the Bush fiasco, and I say that as an USC alum. The problem is that USC or OSU is going to get the death penalty, they are (to coin a phrase from the US banking industry) too big to fail. Does Auburn fall in that too big to fail category (with SC and Ohio)? I don’t think so. And look what happened to SMU, they have never recovered from the death penalty.
NCAA is a joke and they need to rethink how they do things.
The opening drive?? Wow, that’s really harsh. It could be a 3 and out. Maybe he will send them to bed without milk and cookies too!
While I don’t recall the comment being made earlier in this thread, the problem, IMHO, is that the NCAA is both the enforcer and promoter of college sports. You can’t have the same organization performing both roles (the old AEC was an earlier non-sport example).
As others have already stated the only seemingly practical way to eliminate the problem (given the fact that the NCAA isn’t going to change) is to eliminate the amateur status and just pay college atheletes for the revenue generating sports and end the hypocrisy.
Any suspension less than 1 game for any reason is a joke. It just makes the coach look like an idiot.
First, apologies for my absence, I’ve been away from a computer for a few days.
Since no-one seems to want to read my post in the other thread, I’ll copy parts of it here:
FoxSports.com writer Thayer Evans either lied about having a single, anonymous source at the University of Florida or he did have a source and that source lied to him.
Here are three links that demonstrate that Evans’s story about Cam Newton cheating at Florida is not true. Note that these media outlets either have used named sources or have multiple anonymous sources, as good journalism requires.
Newton found refuge at Blinn before heading to Auburn
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...rivals-1150363
http://www.gainesville.com/article/2...CLES/101119294
Note that Newton was in good standing with the University of Florida, both with the football team and academically, when he transferred from Florida.
So what we have now is a kid that unknowingly bought a stolen lap-top three years ago and when he learned the situation and that authorities were looking for said laptop, he panicked and threw it out a window. It was a clear case of panic. How many thieves write their name on stolen property? Why throw something out a window when you have written your name on the outside of it in magic marker?
Handled properly this would have been a non issue. As it is, he did his penance for that and moved on.
NCAA should have just suspended these guys for the Sugar Bowl. That should have been enough. Waiting until next year is stupid. From what I’ve read of the story, all involved have admitted to violations.
NCAA says they made no mistakes
I followed your links and found the following:
[ul]The first link never discusses the charges or merits concerning the academic cheating allegations at Florida. All the first link says is that Cam was a “good boy” while at Blinn.[/ul]
[ul]Your second and third links lead to “Sorry the page cannot be found”.[/ul]
Wanna try again?
Yeah that would alomst be worse than not sitting them at all. Like that really sends a message. Pryor has come out and apologized (and boy did he sound genuine:rolleyes:) so I’m guessing there will be no Tressell imposed suspension for the bowl game.
Apparently you didn’t read far enough in the first link( Houston Chronicle)
*"Before Newton could enroll at Blinn, however, Franchione and school officials conducted their own inquiry into the situation at Florida.
“We have a (National Junior College Athletic Association) policy that you can’t take a student-athlete that is not eligible to go back to the institution he was at,” Rehr said. "So, upon him leaving Florida, he was still in good standing as a student, and he was still in good standing with the (football) program.
“We were assured by people in the admissions office and the coaching staff at Florida that he was in good standing.”*
Brief excerpt from Gainesvile Sun article:
*"Federal law protects the privacy of student education records. UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said a student affairs official will review Newton’s records to see if they match the report in investigating whether anyone at the university could have released them in violation of the law.
'We have zero reason to believe that anyone has leaked this information," Sikes said. “But we have to take allegations of this sort seriously, and we’re looking into it.”*
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20101119/ARTICLES/101119294
Brief excerpt from the Yahoo article:
*"FoxSports.com writer Thayer Evans published a story today alleging Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton “had three different instances of academic cheating while attending the University of Florida.”
The story follows several days of editorial attacks on Newton by Thayer, a former stringer for the New York Times.
Two independent sources with detailed knowledge of the UF academic discipline system during the period in question have disputed the Evans story. According to the sources, no allegations of academic impropriety regarding Cam Newton were sent to the Florida Student Conduct Committee at any time either during or after Newton’s time at UF."*
The two above links work for me on preview. If they don’t work for you, I have no explanation as to why they don’t work. You will get more information by reading the entire articles, if the links will work for you.
John Carter of Mars states:
Apparently you didn’t read far enough in the first link( Houston Chronicle)
*"Before Newton could enroll at Blinn, however, Franchione and school officials conducted their own inquiry into the situation at Florida.
“We have a (National Junior College Athletic Association) policy that you can’t take a student-athlete that is not eligible to go back to the institution he was at,” Rehr said. "So, upon him leaving Florida, he was still in good standing as a student, and he was still in good standing with the (football) program.
“We were assured by people in the admissions office and the coaching staff at Florida that he was in good standing.”*
I did read the entire article but:
[ul]He left Florida, while still in good standing, pending an investigation regarding the various charges against him.[/ul]
[ul]Under the above circumstance, the UofF had no choice but to admit that he was in good standing both in the atheletic department and the school itself. Any other admission by the school or anyone on the staff would have been false and left the school open to possible litigation.[/ul]
[ul]He enrolled at Blinn leaving Florida with nothing to investigate.[/ul]
Now if you want to believe that Cam is innocent then you are entitled to your opinion. I don’t share that opinion and I don’t see us coming to a mutual agreement and that is fine. However, you have no more proof than I do concerning these allegations and we will just have to accept our differences.
Well, if you are not going to accept statements from legitimate sources like this one I linked to:
“Two independent sources with detailed knowledge of the UF academic discipline system during the period in question have disputed the Evans story. According to the sources, no allegations of academic impropriety regarding Cam Newton were sent to the Florida Student Conduct Committee at any time either during or after Newton’s time at UF.”
Or won’t at least discuss the possibility that three legitimate sources disagree with Thayer Evans, who was the SOLE source of the “Cam cheats” tales, so be it. I suppose you fall into the category of “Don’t confuse me with facts, my mind is made up”.
I assume the links worked for you this time, since you made no mention of it.
The first of the two previously unavailable articles merely states that the UF is investigating whether anyone illegally released information from Cam Newton’s file.
The second article, while more to the point also has this to say:
*Per the source, no charges against Newton were ever brought to the Student Conduct Committee during that time.
The source also indicated that no Florida football players have ever been officially reported to the UF Student Conduct Committee for academic violations during Urban Meyer’s tenure.
According to the source, student arrests are subject to additional discipline via the Student Conduct Committee, but it is not uncommon for students in such situations “to cut a deal with the Dean of Students’ office before coming to the Committee.”*
As I said, I am skeptical and Urban Meyer’s program at Florida was certainly not without some controversy. Believe what you want!
I’m wondering why they are investigating what could have been illegally released if there was nothing there.
I shall certainly do so. In the meantime, if you have the energy, I’d like to see one single source from anywhere that confirms Thayer Evans’ allegation of cheating by Cam Newton.
Even that writer for the Orlando Sun, Mike Bianchi, who for some reason hates Newton with a passion has been unable to find anything to indicate Newton cheated at Florida. If anybody should be able to find out something about what’s gone on at UF, Bianchi is the guy.
When Evans started this rumor he was actively promoting Boise State QB Kellen Moore for the Heisman and was writing article after article blasting Cam Newton for first one thing and then another.
As I said, if you have a source for the cheating allegations that doesn’t trace back to Thayer Evans, I’d like to see it. I have a tendency to question someone who has been on a failing crusade then suddenly finds a major item to support his position based on a single anonymous source.
Unless somebody else comes up with independent confirmation about the cheating, I’m going to believe that either Thayer Evans lied when he claimed he had a source, or he located some source that lied to him.
There is something there for every student at the university, it’s their record. They would investigate whatever was rumored to have been released about any student.
Yet, they let Cam Newton slip out of their program and he goes to a rival SEC school.
IMO, an alleged ‘crooked’ program like Univ of Florida Gators would never let a 5 star recruit/prospect get away.
File this into things that make you go UMMMMMMM.