The Cost of Compliance
October 13th, 2009 - byI’ve long been a critic of the NCAA’s ever expanding rule book. It has become so complex that athletes face unfair penalties simply because they have no idea what the rules are! ESPN’s Gregg Easterbrook had a great take on Dez Bryant situation at Oklahoma State and his “violations.”
The Dez Bryant situation is completely ridiculous. In June, Bryant tagged along as Deion Sanders discussed a business deal that did not include Bryant, then went to dinner at Deion’s house. Months later, Oklahoma State, worried that Bryant was somehow involved in the business deal, asked him if he knew Sanders. Bryant panicked and did something really stupid, denying he knew Sanders. Now he’s suspended not for any substantive violation, rather for failing to tell the truth about a permissible action. Of course football players, like everyone else, should always tell the truth. But the punishment is totally out of proportion with the offense: Let him do a community-service project as punishment.
Surely Bryant panicked in part because NCAA rules are so complex, no one can understand them. All big colleges now have a “compliance officer” whose full-time job is to understand NCAA rules — Oklahoma State has two compliance officers plus a “monitoring coordinator” and an “eligibility coordinator” — and even they make mistakes. But they don’t pay any price for mistakes; kids do. The NCAA will bend any rule when it comes to money for the NCAA, but God forbid a confused 20-year-old should fail to follow the letter of subsection 48(d)! Note: Reader Rusty Shackleford of Tulsa reports that Jenks High, a local power plagued by eligibility and recruiting scandals, is hiring a compliance officer. For a high school!
His final point about the high school is one of the more ridiculous stories I have heard this year. However, kids need to understand just because rules seem foolish, they won’t be held any less accountable. having someone up to date on every NCAA rule in your corner, like NCSA, can be a huge help in recruiting.
