There have always been controversies in sports. Whether it’s as small as a college player selling his own jersey or finding out that an American icon cheated his way to several consecutive titles, there is always something to talk about. Within the last couple of weeks, there have been plenty of different scandals, especially in the crazy world we call the NCAA. Here are just a few of the latest and not so greatest.
Mike Rice
If you have not heard about the Rutgers University basketball controversy by now, then you need to come out from the rock that you are living under. Mike Rice, head coach of the men’s basketball team, was fired on April 3 after a video was released showing him physically and verbally abusing his players. The video showed him hitting, kicking and throwing basketballs at his players if they messed up during practice.
According to ESPN, some Rutgers faculty members also want university President Robert Barchi fired for taking too long to fire Rice. They claim that Barchi and his staff received the video months beforehand but did not act until now. Barchi claims that he heard of the video in November but did not actually see it until now.
While Barchi may be safe for now, Tim Pernetti, the Rutgers athletic director has resigned amidst the controversy.
Either way, Rice got what was coming to him. There is a fine line between being rough in a sport and being abusive. He crossed far over that line.
Auburn Tigers
Just like other institutions in the past, the Auburn University football program is accused of violating multiple NCAA rules, including paying players, changing players’ grades and illegally recruiting players. The news broke on ESPN on April 4.
During Head Coach Gene Chizik’s tenure at Auburn, he supposedly offered to pay players, such as receiver Darvin Adams, to stay for their senior seasons after they won the 2011 BCS National Championship game. He also had grades changed for star running back Mike Dyer so that Dyer would be eligible to play in the title game.
Whether or not these allegations are true, does it really come as a surprise that yet another university is accused of paying players? Apparently not, since according to an ESPN.com poll, 60 percent of Americans believe that paying players and changing grades is a widespread practice.
Miami Hurricanes
The saga continues in the case of the Miami Hurricanes. The indecisive and extremely corrupt organizing body of college athletics, the NCAA, has been investigating the allegations that a booster had paid players for almost 10 seasons. The investigation has been going for over two years with no end in sight. The Canes have asked for the case to be thrown out because the NCAA had to call for an external investigation. Former Homeland Security Advisor, Kenneth Wainstein, discovered that almost 20 percent of the NCAA’s evidence was obtained illegally. I don’t blame Miami. If you expect others to follow your rules, then you need to do the same. Get it together, NCAA.
