Tim Sullivan|Courier Journal
So let me get this straight: a college football prospect admits to taking $10,000 in cash from one school and $11,000 in benefits from another, placing both institutions in the crosshairs of the NCAA’s enforcement staff, and he is still scheduled to start next Saturday for Mississippi State.
Linebacker Leo Lewis continues to compete through the wonders of conditional immunity, a deal the NCAA cut in order to loosen Lewis’ lips concerning violations committed in his recruitment. Unable to exercise subpoena power or to threaten incarceration, the NCAA often relies on offers of immunity to extract incriminating information from reluctant witnesses.
The process is prone to get messy, though, as we’ve seen with the University of Louisville. And as Leo Lewis amply demonstrates.
When the NCAA released its amended notice of allegations against the University of Mississippi in February, five of its new allegations involved Lewis and four of them were deemed Level I (most serious) infractions. But though Lewis has admitted to being on the take, and unapologetically—“I just wanted the money,” he told investigators -- he has forfeited none of his eligibility.
Maybe an anvil would be harder to swallow, but not much.
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Recognizing that the financial model of big-time college sports is imbalanced and arguably exploitive; that coaches and administrators pocket a disproportionate share of the cash generated by unsalaried athletes, the NCAA should be careful about dispensing "Get Out Of Jail Free" cards to athletes who have broken the rules with impunity.
Doing so underscores the perception of an uneven application of justice and the suspicion that the enforcement staff may be overly reliant on coerced and/or compromised informants. Granted, catching culprits without benefit of police powers makes NCAA enforcement that much more difficult, but immunity should only be used as a last resort and not as a convenient crutch.
Ostensibly, that's how it works. Jon Duncan, the NCAA's vice president of enforcement, told USA Today immunity is an "effective tool" but emphasizedthat its use is conditioned on the approval of the chairman of the NCAA Committee on Infractions based on a specific request.
"We have to make a case to them for why each individual -- occasionally it's grown ups -- should get immunity, how it will affect the investigation and why it's needed," Duncan said. "... We believe we get credible information in exchange for immunity in most cases, but we always have to be discerning consumers of information. Whether it's in exchange for immunity or not, we always test the information we get."
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How that information isinterpreted, however, can lead to other issues. The use of immunity in the Louisville case contributes to one of the more persuasive passages in U of L’s appeal. The university says an athlete (whose name was redacted) was declared retroactively ineligible based on information reported to the enforcement staff under a grant of "limited immunity," contrary to its interpretation of the NCAA’s Bylaw 19.3.7(d).
“Remarkably, the COI (Committee on Infractions) suggested otherwise,” the appeal reads. “It stated that a student athlete’s immunity pertains only to games in which he completed after'the grant of limited immunity' was awarded.”
Whether the specific athlete had any eligibility remaining at the time of his testimony is unclear. That he did not get off as lightly as did Leo Lewis is obvious.
Here follow the week's Top 10 sports quotes. In the absence of immunity, proceed at your own risk.
10. Charlie Strong, University of South Florida football coach, on histenure at the University of Texas: ”It wasn’t so much about the job being hard, it was just about managing and dealing with the enormous spotlight. After doing that, being the head coach at Texas, you feel like you can do anything.” (The Undefeated)
9. Kyle Larson, NASCAR driver, on Kyle Busch’s three-race sweep at Bristol: “Love him or hate him, I feel he is the most all around talented driver I will ever witness in my lifetime.” (@KyleLarsonRacin on Twitter)
8. John Thrasher, Florida State University president, on a forthcoming football game: "I shouldn't talk too much trash, but I think we're gonna beat Alabama pretty bad next week. I really do." (Seminoles kickoff luncheon)
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7. Mike Martz, former Rams head coach, on the team’s current head coach, Sean McVay: “This guy is a quarterback expert? An offensive expert? Wait a minute while I puke. Right, he's going to be able to teach and handle and guide (quarterback) Jared (Goff) through tough times because of all of his expertise and knowledge? Right. I'm not going to drink that Kool-Aid." (Blitzed: Why NFL Teams Gamble On Starting Rookie Quarterbacks)
(Author’s note: Martz claims his comments were “embellished” by author Thomas George; that “I would never say something like that.” George says the quotes were taken from a 48-minute phone interview and “are completely, 100 percent accurate.”)
6. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins slugger, after hitting his 48th and 49th home runs of the season Friday:"I'm not worried about homers, to be honest. I just want to hit the ball hard and be in a position to strike when they give me a pitch, because it's going to get less and less, and I've got to be ready for that."(Post-game interview)
5. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, on his future: “I am definitely just going one year at a time. I love this game, but I love my family more than I love football. That will certainly be a factor. My wife and I talk about it. My wife is not going to tell me to get out. She says, ‘ I love you. I know you love the game.’ But I did say this at the start of camp, ‘I want my kids to remember me playing football.’ My wife said, ‘I also want you to remember football.’” (Sports Illustrated)
4. Roger Federer, tennis star, on his six-month layoff: “I just made myself a promise to myself that when I do come back. I want to come back like I haven’t eaten like a crocodile in a year. I don’t know how to explain it, but you need to be incredibly hungry. It can’t be like, ‘Okay, here we go again, it’s a continuation of what I was doing here.’” (USA Today)
3. Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN college football analyst, on Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson: "He is still playing this year, huh?. . . It's as if Louisville isn't playing this year, and Lamar Jackson, I didn't know if he went to the NFL or if he is back. Turns out he is... I don't know if I've ever seen a guy have a year like he enjoyed and almost be forgotten by the masses the following year." (Courier-Journal)
2. LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills running back, on unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick: "It's a lot more than just he's not on the team because he doesn't want to stand for the national anthem. That may have something to do with it, but I think also it has a lot to do with his play. I'm sure a lot of teams wouldn't want him as their starting quarterback. That chaos that comes along with it, it's a lot..."
"There's certain players that could be on the team with big distractions, and there's other players that it's not good enough or not worth it. I think his situation is not good enough to have him on the team with all the attention that comes along with it. I'm sure if a guy like [Tom] Brady or a guy like whoever is your favorite player — Odell Beckham or a guy like that — you'll deal with that attention and play him." (Interview session)
1. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves star, on recent violence in Charlottesville: “Our President was given a layup: Denounce white supremacists. And he couldn’t... and wouldn’t. He missed... he missed badly.
“I think about it like this: The President’s response, in basketball terms … ’cause you may know I know a little about the sport … was just like catching the ball on a fast break — no one else is even past half court — and then tripping on your own feet inside the paint as the ball flies out of bounds.” (The Players Tribune)
Tim Sullivan can be reached at (502) 582-4650, tsullivan@courier-journal.com or @TimSullivan714 on Twitter.
