After hearing the details of arguably the largest college football scandal in decades, a number of media members have suggested the NCAA to bring down the dreaded “death penalty” on U. Miami, canceling the school’s involvement in the sport for at least a calendar year.
Nevin Shapiro, a former UM booster currently serving a 30-year prison sentence for a $900-million Ponzi scheme, alleges that he gave more than 70 players money, prostitutes and access to his mansion, among other favors. He believes the school will pay the ultimate price for allowing players to receive Shapiro’s money.
“Hell, yeah, I recruited a lot of kids for Miami,” Shapiro told Yahoo! Sports. “With access to the clubs, access to the strip joints. My house. My boat. We’re talking about high school football players. Not anybody can just get into the clubs or strip joints. Who is going to pay for it and make it happen? That was me.”
The “death penalty” supporters believe the only way to end the problem is to send a message of non-tolerance, using Miami as the scapegoat.
I have a better suggestion for a wake-up call – give the sport the death penalty for a year.
Though Miami is certainly in the wrong and easily deserving of severe punishment, it’s not fair for one school to take the fall for what has become a systematic failure across the college football landscape.
Ohio State, USC, Auburn and, yes, our very own UCF Knights have all come under NCAA investigation in recent months.
Jim Tressel lost his job, Terrelle Pryor lost his eligibility and Reggie Bush lost his Heisman. But none of these actions have been significant in creating an end to the corruption.
In the words of NCAA president Mark Emmert, nothing his organization does seems to be working.
“The system in place that manages and oversees compliance with the rules of amateurism is clearly not working in fundamental ways,” Emmert said. “You can’t look at that and say the system’s working well. It’s not.”
It’s evident that the NCAA has to regain control of the situation and solve issues ranging from whether or not student-athletes, not just football players, should receive a stipend each year in addition to their full-ride scholarships to prevent outside influences, namely boosters, from damaging the sport’s reputation.
The changes will not occur overnight, so the NCAA should take the luxury of using as much time as necessary to fix what is clearly broken.
Should the Hurricanes be found guilty of these accusations, they will be the second team in the last decade forced to surrender its championship. While the majority of the players involved have long since graduated and gone on to careers in the NFL or elsewhere, players who had no part in Shapiro’s shadiness will have to suffer.
Current Hurricanes coach Al Golden, hired in December 2010, perhaps got the rawest end of the deal, saying in an interview that he knew nothing of these allegations before taking the job.
Sadly, my solution will never come to fruition because the NCAA knows how much money it stands to lose.
Just like the players it punishes, the NCAA is driven by the almighty dollar. How else can a person explain Pryor earning a five-game suspension for 2011 but being allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl, or Cam Newton not having to sit out a down while his father was investigated for a pay-for-play scandal?
Killing the ‘Canes doesn’t solve anything; it just makes the NCAA look like it’s moving in the right direction.
For years, college football fans have claimed their version of America’s sport is better than the professional game largely on the basis of players giving it their all for school spirit and pride, instead of money.
Well, with the recent busts and allegations, what leg do they have to stand on now?