It's thing when you take impermissible benefits prior to enrolling at school, and agree to pay them back. In my opinion, you're still ineligible, but whatever. However, once you go and take impermissible benefits AGAIN, while you're IN SCHOOL, you should not be allowed to play college basketball. That's just blatantly violating the rules of amateurism, and flipping the NCAA off, isn't it? Take the case of UConn's Ryan Boatright, who was suspended at the start of the season for the first set of impermissible benefits, only to be reinstated, then suspended again as the NCAA learned of more, those being received while enrolled at UConn. Well, the NCAA has now cleared Boatright and he is eligible to play today against Notre Dame, after he agreed to pay the money back. From the NCAA press release:
This situation involves many of the specific concerns expressed by NCAA membership regarding improper third party influence over student-athletes and their families. Specifically, it included more than $8,000 in cash and other impermissible benefits, including a car. These benefits – which are not allowed because they are inconsistent with the principles and values embraced by the NCAA membership – were provided to Mr. Boatright and his mother both before and while he was at UCONN. These impermissible benefits were provided by at least two individuals linked to nonscholastic basketball and professional sports.
It's a shame that the NCAA is not bound by its own precedent. Some guys (ahem, Marcus Camby) fess up to taking improper benefits and their school's Final Four banner gets vacated. Then there are guys like Boatright who are allowed to play after admitting they took improper benefits. At this point, I think it is safe to assume that Jim Calhoun has incriminating photos of NCAA President Mark Emmert.
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