Stop Punishing the Innocent!

In yet another asinine move by the NCAA, the governing body of collegiate athletics announced today that the Memphis Tigers would be stripped of their 38 wins and Final Four appearance in 2007-2008...why is it asinine? Because once again, the NCAA is punishing the innocent and letting the guilty parties off scott free.

While the NCAA did not reveal the identity of the player in question, it can be clearly summarized that it was all-world talent Derrick Rose. The Chicago Bulls star is alleged to have had another person take his SAT exam so he would be eligible as a freshman. Memphis argued it did not have enough information to substantiate the allegations in November 2007 and cleared him to play. The NCAA committee also claimed that Rose's brother received free transportation on the team's charter plane and hotel lodging that season.

The tragedy in all this is that Memphis and its current players, not Rose or former coach John Calipari, will be put on three year's probation. Rose will continue to make millions in the NBA and Calipari, who roamed the sidelines at UMass during the Marcus Camby scandal, will remain seated in Lexington, Kentucky presiding over arguably the most prestigious basketball institution in the country. Meanwhile, the current Tiger players and staff will watch as the banners are removed from the rafters of the FedEx Forum.

The NCAA will continue to be rocked by questionably behavior until the accused are punished. I believe they should be working hand in hand with the NBA and NFL to punish players who have turned pro after allegations surface and allow for sanctions to be leveled against a coach and his staff even if he is no longer at the institution.

THE NCAA REMAINS THE ONLY INSTITUTION IN THIS COUNTRY WHERE THE INNOCENT ARE PUNISHED AND THE GUILTY ARE FREE!