A Penny for my Eric Bledsoe Thoughts...

So, I told you what's going down with the Cats and Eric Bledsoe earlier. First let me say that I am moderately worried that this could be an issue. Everything the New York Times article says could be true. It is all plausible. To recap, the follow are the statements:


1) Eric Bledsoe did have bad grades and did manage to bring his grades up remarkably
2) Eric Bledsoe comes from an unquestionably poor family who would possibly be willing to take handouts to avoid eviction/make ends meet.

But that's how speculation works. Pull out something that could happen, something people think might happen, and prey off of the inabilities to wait until final verdict is passed. There are several GIANT holes in the NYT's piece.

1) Eric Bledsoe's transcripts cannot be released without express written consent. I can't walk into a college/high school and get someone's transcripts. I would have to get that person to get the transcripts for me. So the NYT and ESPN who are on record as having seen the transcripts coerced someone to break the law at the sake of a story and someone's privacy. The NCAA asked for the transcripts and were denied - and I don't think they can use the unofficial ESPN version. This tells me that the NCAA doesn't know what his Pre-Senior and Post-Graduation GPAs looked like. It seems that the NYT and ESPN have some Rick Pitino style morality/ethics issues.

2) Bledsoe's High school was shut down after his junior year. He HAD to transfer his senior season. How many kids have left one school, went to another, and had their grades get better or worse? How often does a change of scenery cause a student to do different in class? I will say my Jr/Sr English teacher in high school were 10x harder than any professor I had in college. Thus, my grades were tougher to come by in high school than college. Does that make me a cheater? No, it means I picked easier teachers. The students have to do the work - but teachers decide how much work and how good the work has to be - its just how it is.

Bledsoe's 1.9 GPA was boosted to 2.5 by several A's his Sr. year, which he had received infrequently during grades 9-11. Bledsoe changed schools, changed houses, and changed teachers. Can getting out of a bad neighborhood and school and just getting that Sr. bump/help from teachers not be enough to warrant a few grades that are better? YES, it is not unlikely for this to happen. I believe everything with his grades will be proven to be legit. UK officials were on this story before he arrived on campus. They took a deep look at his grades and they would have found the same issues the NCAA is supposedly 'finding.'

3) The most serious accusation is that the family received $400/month for 3 months rent paid by the high school coach. Eric Bledsoe is from a poor family. That's $1,200 for living arrangements of 4 people (Eric, his sister, brother and mom). If the Bledsoe family did accept the three months of rent from the coach, I can't blame them. When you are on the verge of losing your family and your home and someone helps you out, wouldn't you accept? Assuming they did take the money - which is a HUGE assumption - should every kid, who's parent can't afford rent be forced to the streets so they can still play high school sports?

This isn't Reggie Bush/USC/Agent/beach front/ multi-million dollar home for free type of scandal - this is a low income home of 4 people for 3 months. My problem is that the statement is based off a landlord who remembers 3 cash payments from 2 years ago from a multi-unit complex. I solute that person and think they should be putting those short term quick recall abilities to use on Jeopardy vs. running a complex.

4) The NCAA doesn't speak of open investigations or even confirm an open investigation - as stated by THIS ARTICLE. If that's the case, would the author truly know all these 'details'? Would they know who the NCAA spoke with and what they spoke about? Would they know what the NCAA is investigating and all the allegations? Sure there are leaks - but leaks are not FULL 100% and usually leaked by someone that just has parts of the facts - as in this case.

At the end of the day - or investigation - haters will hate and there are plenty of them when it concerns UK. Like I said this could come back to find Cal/UK guilty and stripped of their 35 wins this season. UK2K would be repealed, Cal could bolt for the NBA quicker than my lettuce to flower, and Louisville fans can get a step back up on the Wildcats. But the hype around this story seems a bit premature without knowing more INFORMATION which will surely be coming soon.