Today, it appears the NCAA handles sanctions in the same way a parent handles their misbehaving child. They just want the whole story, all at once. They don’t like being lied to, and they reward honesty.
This seemingly new ideology became evident when the NCAA handed down a punishment equivalent to a slap on the wrist to Miami. The punishment included a loss of nine total scholarships over three years, a self-imposed one-year bowl ban and three years probation.
This is quite surprising, considering that Miami players were being given improper benefits, one of the NCAA’s biggest agitations. The NCAA highly stresses the concept of being a “student-athlete,” and receiving benefits defeats the purpose of being a student first and athlete second.
For a program as out of control as Miami to receive a penalty so miniscule is mind-boggling, especially to USC and Penn State fans.
USC was given a two-year bowl ban, forfeited 30 scholarships and was put on a four-year probation all because Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo accepted a couple of gifts from USC benefactors.
For the Jerry Sandusky situation, Penn State was issued a post-season ban, fined $60 million and forced to vacate 13 years of wins under former coach Joe Paterno. While the NCAA recently gave back several scholarships to Penn State, the sanctions remained harsh for acts that, while they were morally outrageous, didn’t necessarily break NCAA violations.
Then you have Miami. When news first broke back in 2011 about the millions in illicit benefits booster Nevin Shapiro spent on men’s basketball and football players, some were talking about a possible “death penalty” for Miami football, similar to the one issued to SMU in 1987.
Instead, Miami was an open book during the entire investigation, cooperating completely with the NCAA, and, in turn, their honesty was rewarded.
Interestingly enough, the theme of coming clean, telling the truth and facing the issue head on seems to be the correct course of action in these negative situations.
Take Ryan Braun as a perfect example of everything not to do. He had multiple opportunities to come clean, admit his mistake and simply move on. Instead, he decided to hide his transgression and see if he could get away with it. He lied and before he went to bed, he lied some more. For a while, Braun was the most hated athlete in America, and it’s going to take him years before he can begin to repair that.
Roger Clemens is in the same boat. He is refusing to admit what he’s done and continues to dig himself into a deeper hole. Countless other athletes have emulated the behavior of Clemens: Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and the list just goes on.
Meanwhile, the likes of David Ortiz, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi and The University of Miami all have admitted what they’ve done. They faced the issue head on, and the public respects them for that. They are quick to put it all in the past and move forward. The fans think higher of them, and the league governing bodies impose lesser sanctions.
Once upon a time the ideology was to deny, deny, deny until they’ve caught you red-handed, but times have changed. The fans respect a player who stands up with his hat in his hand and admits guilt. It takes courage.
For years now, fans have had enough with being lied to; they’ve had enough with being treated as if they were stupid. Tell the truth and you shall receive forgiveness but lie and the forgiveness may never come.
Looking at Miami’s sanctions, it seems as though the NCAA is sick of being lied to, as well, and has decided to reward the honesty.
Nathan Krohn can be reached nathan.krohn@spartans.ut.edu.