Atlanta radio host John Kincade sent out this tweet yesterday in the wake of the Gurley suspension:
John has a point. However, I'm not sure I would call what sane Bulldog fans think about this as an absence of morals. Let's be clear here: If these allegations are true, then Todd Gurley broke the rules and should be punished. Even if the rules seem to be dumb. My problem isn't a moral one. It's the fact that how the NCAA handles scenarios like this is totally arbitrary. I teach a class to future educators here at UGA and part of what I teach them is that it is important to have rules and when those rules are broken, you must have a clear and consistent punishment that occurs in the immediate aftermath to curb behavior. The NCAA doesn't have this. The first problem is that the NCAA does nothing swiftly. In fact, it is UGA that has suspended Todd Gurley (more on that later), not the NCAA. While the NCAA investigation goes on, it seems Gurley will not play. Georgia fans are well aware of how long that took for one AJ Green. Wait, forget that, UGA fans will remember that Kolton Houston had to sit out the better part of two years because of the slow wheels of the NCAA (granted that was a different scenario). Additionally, there is no set punishment for something along these lines. With no evidence of wrong doing, Johnny Manziel sat a half of a game against Rice. With no evidence of wrong doing, Cam Newton sat out zero games while at Auburn (again, different scenario but being paid was an accusation).
Now, did UGA fans scream for them to be suspended. Of course they did. We're fans. Just like any other SEC fans would say the same about Todd Gurley if he hadn't been suspended but the story broke. It's not a moral dilemma. Todd Gurley broke no laws. When kids get kicked off the UGA football team for breaking laws, I don't think any sane UGA fans have a problem with it. I think the problem they have is the moral compass of other schools coaches and administrators who seem to benefit off of UGA's stance. That doesn't mean I don't think kids deserve second chances. I do. Zach Mettenberger, Nick Marshall, Trey Matthews. All of those guys deserved a second chance. But it chaps my ass that another SEC school gets to benefit from UGA doing the right thing at the time.
Now, let's talk about UGA doing the right thing. I don't know the inner workings of this story, but I did read this email released by the folks over at SBNation. If you haven't yet seen it, I encourage you to take a look at it. In it, a memorabilia dealer who claims to have had Gurley sign autographs for money and took pictures (of a dreadlocked man who's face is covered signing and not of money exchanging hands) tries to get SBNation to scoop the story. Apparently, this was also done at TMZ. Could this have happened? Sure. Money may have even exchanged hands. We don't know and that's the point. UGA better have more evidence that Gurley is in the wrong here before they suspended him.
When there is a man crazy enough to poison the trees at Toomer's Corner or threaten to behead Gus Malzahn, what's to say there's not a fan that would report supposed infraction to the UGA compliance office? I want to give people the benefit of the doubt but people give me every reason not to. I'm no conspiracy theorist either. My friend, Matt Forshee used the word 'predator' to describe this scenario and that is exactly what it is. "Hey man, sign this stuff. No on will ever know" (until I report this in person to others). If this scenario is true then doesn't the man who urged Gurley to sign deserve restitution as well. Rumors have run rampant that the memorabilia dealer in question, is a Florida graduate. Maybe that's true and maybe it isn't but in today's world, is it hard to believe?
Anyways, one thing is for certain in this mess. Todd Gurley isn't playing on Saturday in UGA's most important game of the season to date. He may never don the Red and Black again. The loser here is all of College Football. I texted my dad last week during the game with a simple question: "Be honest, this is the closest thing to Herschel I'll ever see." He said it was. We're all missing out on what could've been a really special year for one player. It's sad. As for the Dawgs, I think this will bring them together as a team. I think they'll play well this weekend, rallying around each other in this difficult scenario. I don't know if that's enough to win the game though. I wasn't extremely confident with the best player in the nation on the team so it's hard to be more confident without him.
The main thing is that the NCAA needs to get its shit together. I have little doubt that this is a recurring problem for a reason. It's happening all of the time. Figure out what the punishment should be. Enforce it immediately. If I can teach that to 20 year olds who understand it, you'd think an organization run by supposedly educated people could get it. A standard suspension is better than the horrible 'suspended indefinitely' term that has to be used because people don't know. It's not fair to the team. It's not fair to the fans. And even if he broke the rules, it's not fair to Todd Gurley to be left in limbo.
This is not a complicated issue.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is terribly unfortunate that the players cannot benefit financially from their skills and abilities while the NCAA and media outlets make millions off of their performance. That isn't the point. Neither is how efficient or fair the NCAA is in enforcement.
The fact remains that the NCAA does have guidelines and rules addressing an athlete's maintenance of 'amateur status' (all debate aside) including profiting from memorabilia. Todd Gurley had a choice. He chose to sign memorabilia- knowing that it was an NCAA violation. Its pretty simple- if you want to continue playing, don't break the rules. Keep your nose clean. Do what you're supposed to do...and DON'T do what you aren't supposed to do.
Now, don't ask me how I'm going to bring myself to watch the Dawgs on Saturday against Mizzou without him, but that's another conversation entirely. :)
I agree with you as well, Karen
ReplyDeleteI don't disagree with you at all Karen. In fact, I say as much in the article. However, the murkiness of the NCAA rules and the time it takes to enforce them is an issue here. Of course, new media isn't helping either. I've heard everything from Gurley will be back this week (he's practicing with the team today) to he's done for the year. All of these conflicting reports certainly creates difficulty in seeing the future. Let's just be happy the Dawgs stepped up and proved that Gurley isn't the only player on the team and hope they can continue to do that with or without him on the field.
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