As I clicked on all of the news websites today they were full of doom and dread: the BP oil spill is getting worse, Iran has enough enriched uranium for two nuclear weapons, Israel is going toe to toe with the UN over the deaths of pro-Palestinian activists, Al and Tipper Gore are getting a divorce, etc... I could write an article on any of those subjects but since this is a sports website I have to focus on the biggest story hitting the University of Kentcuky...Bledsoegate.
I have personally held off from doing a story about this for a couple of reasons. 1). I was really busy enjoying my Memorial Day weekend and 2). I didn't want to jump the gun before more facts came in. Now that I know more about what is going on I feel like I can comfortably state my thoughts and my position.
I am not going to bore you with the facts and details, I am sure you have read them all by now. What I am going to focus on here is that the NCAA has a broken system and it needs to be fixed. All of the Kentcuky/Calipari haters are having a field day with this (UofL fans, Pat Forde, Dana O'Neil to name a few) even though the University or Cal have not been implicated in any wrong doing other than having Bledsoe on the team. The fact that Bledsoe was on the team was cleared by the NCAA in an exhaustive investigation of his status before he was officially a member of the team.
If the NCAA cannot tie Calipari or the University of Kentucky to any of these allegations, then that institution should not have a leg to stand on. But, as Monster Mash pointed out in his earlier post, that is not the case with the NCAA. The NCAA is like a cartel and makes up their own rules as they go along, depending on the team in question.
Corey Maggette was found to have taken cash from a summer basketball coach and took money from agents. He played for Duke and they were not penalized for anything. He should have been ruled ineligible and Duke should have had to forfeit any games that he played for them. That didn't happen. Coach K and Duke are untouchable and the NCAA will not penalize their golden program. They went to the Final Four in 1999 when Maggette was there and that Final Four was not vacated.
What about Ohio State and Maurice Calrett? The former OSU superstar running back claimed that boosters and coach Jim Tressell provided him and his brother with cars, cash, jobs they didn't have to show up to and many other illegal benefits that Ohio State was never made to answer for. He won a national championship with the Buckeyes and that still stands.
And how many years has it taken the NCAA to act on the Reggie Bush scandal? This story broke in 2005 and we are now in 2010 and there still hasn't been any penalties lobbed at USC. Bush's parents were living in a multi-million dollar home while Bush played for the Trojans, Bush also received personal money, clothes and a car. He still has his 2005 Heisman and USC still has their 2004 national title. I suspect USC will get a slap on the wrist.
Then there is O.J. Mayo. He was accused of and admitted to taking over $50,000 dollars in improper benefits and USC was able to "self-impose" sanctions and the NCAA is going to rule on Friday whether or not anything more will be done. Stay posted for that one.
What does all of this tell us? It tells us that the NCAA plays by its own rules, shows no fairness, shows no continuity and is as crooked at the politics coming out of the city of Chicago. It took the NCAA a few short months to rule on the Derrick Rose situation, what about the previously mentioned transgressions? It has taken years for some while others were just swept under the rug.
If Eric Bledsoe's alleged transgressions are proven then it is going to be interesting to see how the NCAA reacts to the facts that UK or Calipari had absolutely nothing to do with this. Also, how will it look if the NCAA penalizes a kid, a University and his family for somebody reaching out and being a good Samaritan? Bledsoe's coach did nothing more than try and help out a family that was too poor to pay rent for a $400 a month apartment. But it's OK that Reggie Bush's parents had a million dollar beach front pad while their son was scoring touchdowns.
I think a fair penalty would be for Bledsoe and his coach to pay some type of fine. This way none of the kids on Bledsoe's team are penalized and it shows that Kentucky and Calipari committed no wrong doing in this situation. But this is not how the NCAA works. Fairness is not in their vocabulary. There needs to be an investigation into the inner workings of this organization and a report on how and why they rule on specific situations.
I encourage you to read the links above to give you a full scale view of the unfairness and the crooked nature of the NCAA.
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