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发帖数: 764 | 1 The NCAA slapped USC with harsh penalties over the Reggie Bush scandal as an
example to other schools. Allegations of violations by a University of
Miami booster make the USC case look minor.
The chairman of the NCAA committee on infractions said last year the case
against USC was, literally, a "three-feet."
That's how high the paperwork would stack, he said, if you started a pile on
the floor.
The chairman said the NCAA was going to make an example out of USC in the
hope it would serve as a warning to other schools. USC football was slammed
with a two-year bowl ban and the loss of 30 scholarships as the result of
violations involving star running back Reggie Bush.
The chairman said the NCAA concluded that even if USC didn't know what was
going on in San Diego, well, it should have. It was a powerful message.
"High-profile athletes demand high-profile compliance," the chairman said.
The chairman's name was Paul Dee. He was the former, long-time athletic
director at the University of Miami.
As the Church Lady used to say, "Well, isn't that special?"
Miami made news Tuesday when Yahoo! Sports, the same outfit that broke the
Bush story, detailed allegations of widespread abuses. The charges, if true,
make USC's violations look like parking 30 minutes in a 20-minute zone.
Miami, it seems, still has vices.
Nevin Shapiro, a booster who agreed to cooperate with the government and
Yahoo! while he sits in jail for his role in a $930-million Ponzi scheme, is
singing like a Hurricane canary.
Shapiro claims that from 2002 through 2010, while he was contributing money
to Miami athletics, he also provided thousands of impermissible benefits for
at least 72 athletes.
What kind of benefits did Shapiro allegedly provide?
Oh, stuff like prostitutes, bounty payouts to players for "hit of the game,"
and "big plays." Also: jewelry, clothing, travel, televisions, house/yacht
privileges and strip clubs. Shapiro said he even paid for an abortion after
a Miami player impregnated a strip-club dancer. He said the player didn't
know of the payoff — as if that makes it OK.
Shapiro claims several Miami assistant coaches knew of the violations. These
accusations aren't entirely new — they first surfaced last summer — and
Miami has been cooperating with the NCAA.
"The University of Miami takes these matters very seriously," the school
said in a statement.
Shapiro's credibility can certainly be challenged. However, the depth of
detail and corroboration provided by Yahoo! is mind-boggling. People at
Southern Methodist University are probably reading this and saying, "And we
got the Death Penalty?" Shoot, SMU only had "a payroll to meet."
USC fans have to be incredulous — even while acknowledging what Reggie Bush
did was wrong.
Dee was Miami's AD from 1993 through 2008. He was in charge when Miami was
hit with major sanctions in the mid-1990s. Sports Illustrated, in a 1995
cover story, suggested Miami had become so corrupt it should drop football.
Some people thought that idea was way over the top.
The Hurricanes recovered from probation and bounced back to win the Bowl
Championship Series title in 2001. The next year, we're led to believe,
Shapiro entered the room.
Sports Illustrated might want to reprint that 1995 cover with the headline,
"Well…?" |
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