Alabama in hot water
or just posting to be heard? Please provide a little bit of effort and maybe summarize.
Seems to be absolutely nothing to me, hell if anything it seems like Alabama's compliance office was actually doing its job.
Summary -
- Some dude in Alabama was selling autographed merch signed by current student athletes.
- The university compliance department sent him a cease and desist letter.
- IF the student athletes were aware the stuff was being sold, or were compensated in any way, they would be ineligible.
This is probably nothing.
The implication seemed like the players found out, got pissed, and told the school. Isn't that exactly how compliance is supposed to work?
nothing to see here
Of every "Oh maaaan this smells like big trouble!" story that pops up in college athletics, maybe 1 in 20 of them actually lead to damaging NCAA sanctions, and that might be generous.
Until that changes, I will continue to yawn at items like this and scoff at the prospect of what is going to happen to a program for foul play (which I don't think this story even constitutes). The NCAA has more than earned this fan's skepticism.
It seems straight-up to me, that Alabama released the cease-and-desist letter because it is exclupatory.
Alabama had long ago dealt with the menswear shop owner who was depicted in web photos with players and autographed memorabilia. Where did I see those photos? Was it here? Was it at Eleven Warriors? Anyway, seems like much ado about very little. Exactly like Tatgate, with the notable exception that Alabama was immediately taking appropriate, direct, above-board action; the opposite of Senator Tressel.
NOTE: The Alabama letter was written the same week that Tatgate went public, I think. If I have my Tatgate timeline properly committed to memory. So there is that. Alabammy doing a little rear-guard action as soon as somebody in Tuscaloosa said, "Ya'll think that mebbee some of our boys wuz sellin' stuff like them Ohio boys?"
So, okay. If that's "hot water," then so be it.
So Alabama asking people not to resell autographs puts them in hot water? The letter was written eight months ago. Nothing to see here.
There is no evidence that anyone got paid for this stuff. There is also no evidence that Saban knew about it and purposely played ineligible players. While Saban deserves to sit at his near-namesake's right knee for oversigning, this looks like they were actually doing their job this time.
since the way the school covers its posterior and the back ends of its players is to tell the offender to stop. But...the picture is from the T-Town Menswear facebook album, showing field-pass-holding "Tom" with Saban's wife and other folks at a game last October. Outkick the Coverage gets into this more in another article. But, since the NCAA is not any sort of real enforcement agency, I don't think they know what smoking guns smell like...
Just like there's nothing improper about some guy (Talbott) allegedly giving OSU players money for autographed items, taking them golfing to private clubs, etc. From what I've picked up from local cbus connections, he even brought players out to Victoria's Secret when he worked there to show them off (not necessarily a violation, but up there on the creepy meter with having them go to his kid's birthday party).
See no evil, hear no evil, smell no evil = NCAA Compliance (selectively)
Doesn't sound like you know what a smoking gun is either.
Actually sounds like he does. I am sure any person can walk into autodirect and get a long term loaner for no money down.
So the players are going out of their way to sign stuff for this guy out of the kidness of their hearts? It goes above just a fan when this guy is selling the stuff. The kids might not of made anything on this I dont know but it certainly dont look right.
There has been a lot of crap associated with Alabama over the years. However, unlike a certain school in central Ohio, their compliance department does its job. Unfortunately, I think monitoring oversigning, cutting players and mass medical issues is outside the compliance realm.
I live in Nashville, TN. As a Michigan fan it's hard to live in the middle of SEC country. I particularly can't stand the writer of these pieces, Clay Travis. He is on a radio show in Nashville called 'the three hour lunch' He is arrogant and thinks he knows everything. Plus he likes to talk about how smart he is because he has a law degree and how much money he has. Don't waste your time reading this story. He is basically the kid growing up that had no athletic talent or skills and tried to get everyone in trouble for being mean to him. If you looked up the definition of douche-rocket, you would find the name Clay Travis! I'm praying that new Nashville resident Kirk Herbstreit will get a radio show down here in NashVegas to replace the sorry Three Hour Lunch slap dicks.
Based on the nothing to see here attitude of the NCAA re: OSU I would call this a tepid bath if not a refreshing cold dip on a hot summers day if anything.
It can't be just me...
Does anyone else see the overwhleming pattern, on all of the various CFB blogs?
When it is "your" team at issue, the NCAA is a hypertechnical gestapo-type operation. Ready and willing to persecute your school, because as everybody knows the NCAA and the whole world hates your team because it is so beautiful, and wants to punish your team, mercilessly.
And when it is your rival, the NCAA are nothing but lax, careless, co-conspirators with your cheating enemies.
I don't buy this. The NCAA was not easy on Michigan. Even Michigan was not easy on Michigan. We ended up with a slap on the wrist, because we deserved nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
At the same time, I don't see any particular evidence that the NCAA is going hard or easy on any particular schools without reason, at least based on what has been formalized in Notices of Allegations, or in self-reporting.
People might agree or disagree with me; that's fine. But geeze, to look at MGoBlog alone; we see Michigan fans who were complaining about what hardasses the NCAA was in 2010, and how soft the NCAA has become now.
There is, to be sure, an issue of insitutional cooperation, upon which the NCAA is highly dependent.
Based on everything I have heard informally, Michigan was the supreme model of cooperation with the NCAA. (Another big Fuck You to the Free Press on that score. Even as the Michigan investigation was being wrapped up, and it was becoming clear that Rosenberg had totally jumped the shark, the Free Press was challenging the adequacay of the NCAA investigation, wondering why they couldn't be informed of the names of interview subjects, so that the Free Press could compare them to the names that, uh, the Free Press whouldn't give out to anybody else. Charming.)
And there have been issues of significant lack of cooperation with the NCAA -- USC, possibly Auburn, etc.
And somewhere in between (probably a helluva lot closer to Michigan, than USC) there is Ohio State.
Well they basically paid their players for a decade and are going to get a similar punishment as us while we practiced 20 minutes extra per week on average.
They do have to vacate 2010 and they lost their coach, but I fail to see how the punishment fits the crime when we self imposed basically the same thing (minus the vacated year and the coach "resigning").
The institution should share some of the blame. It isn't as easy as firing your coach and washing your hands of the ordeal, or at least it shouldn't be.
Well they basically paid their players for a decade and are going to get a similar punishment as us while we practiced 20 minutes extra per week on average.
At least insofar as your knowing what sorts of penalties that OSU might ultimately face. Nobody knows yet. There's been no hearing yet.
And no, OSU is not even alleged (much less proven) to have "basically paid their players for a decade..."
I will bet you any amount of money that you'd care to, that the OSU penalties will be qualitatively different, and not "similar punishment" to the Michigan case, No. M324. I hate to get into the prediction game, because I just finished telling you that nobody knows, yet. Hell, I've already won that bet. As you seem to concede, the self-imposed sanctions (all of our sanctions were self-imposed too, except for one added probation year) already are qualitatively different, between Michigan and Ohio State.
But the vacating of an entire season, (possible) scholarship losses, (possible) coaching/contact limitations, (possible) loss of postseason play; Michigan faced none of that, and quite rightly so. Michigan's football coach was not forced into retirement as a result, again quite rightly. And there may be much more.
So I think you're wrong on the facts. But you have sort of proven my other point, the meta-issue, about how fans tend to perceive the NCAA.
would it be possible to go back and vacate 2008-2010? j/k
Seriously though, I wouldn't mind having it wiped from my memory.
as part of that package of vacating 2008-2010?
but since you wanted to take it serious I will say that when you vacate seasons, you don't vacate reality. Robinson is a wolverine and vacated wins wouldn't change that. My joke was essentially that vacating our 15 wins over three seasons wouldn't hurt our overall record that much, and it would be really cool if we could ditch the 22 losses that came during the same time period.
All in all....it was a joke dude. Try not to take everything so seriously.
that likewise, "Denard Robinson as a kick returner for Florida" is pretty unlikely too. Not very serious.
Dammit, if you guys aren't awesome!
I actually like Alabama football, but I don't think this story is a big deal. I could be wrong. But I'm sure there are thousands of proprietorships out there having semi-regular contact with college athletes.
seems to be room temperature at best. Looks like compliance is on top of it. Looks more like a booster/fan taking to many liberties with his connections to the progam than it does any type of players issues.
Of course, "booster" status can drag the institution into a world of hurt. "Booster" status is what was attached to Ed Martin. Such that he became "U-M booster Ed Martin." Instead of "Numbers-runner Ed Martin." Or "Local racketeer Ed Martin."
Above, I mentioned the timing of the Alabama cease-and-desist letter. After Tatgate was exposed. So that part might be a little suspicious. But if Alabama felt itself to be under investigation, with some bad stuff in the pipeline, I don't think that they would be publicly releasing even the exculpatory stuff. (Although the letter could just as easily have been released by Mr. Alabama Clothier; there's nothing about it that is privileged or protected.)
I can't stand clay travis. he always drove me nuts when Brian used to write over at...what was that aol place? fanhouse? I couldn't stand him then. The guys a tool
....found the story to be interesting,but pointless.
Want the full wieght of the ncaa on the chest of tuos. This school has a lack of *lawness* within its sports department that needs to be exposed & addressed.
This is old and I'm pretty sure it's already been taken care of. The only reason it is getting more attention now is because an Auburn fan has been spamming the message boards of Alabama's rivals with this story. Alabama investigated this twice and was cleared by the NCAA both times according to their insiders.