Latest news with #NCAACommitteeonInfractions
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Connor Stalions' lawyers fire back at NCAA after COI ruling
There was some hope for Connor Stalions and his legal team that the NCAA Committee on Infractions, after hearing their case in June, that it would be relatively lenient. After all, there have been no answers as to how friends and family counts as 'scouts' in the advanced scouting saga, but just as importantly, the NCAA never divulged the chain of custody of the documents and information it received from an unnamed private investigation firm, despite Stalions maintaining that the materials used by the NCAA were privileged. Stalions, who has been out of football for nearly two years, was given an eight-year show cause, likely prohibiting him from the college game until 2033. In the aftermath of the ruling, Stalions' lawyers released a lengthy statement and response, which you can read below: "We are not surprised by the NCAA's ruling because the NCAA did, as it has always done, the wrong thing. Based on the penalties laid down today, it is obvious that this whole ordeal was just another, last-ditch effort by the NCAA in its perpetual, petty witch hunt of Coach Harbaugh. Connor was just the vehicle through which the NCAA could give itself the last word in this vendetta." "Connor will be fine. He is a wonderful person. He's smart. He's loyal, dedicated, and determined—traits he carries with him onto the football field from his days serving his country to protect all of us. He loves helping young people learn about life and football. And, regardless of what the NCAA says today, he plans to continue learning about and contributing to the game of football at is highest levels." "Connor already won. We knew he was going to be railroaded the moment the NCAA first leaked this story in violation of its own rules. The NCAA decided it would target and punish him in 2023. So, rather than let them ruin his career in silence, he decided to expose the NCAA for the fraud it is in documentary Sign Stealer. Rather than let the NCAA continue to hide in secret, we decided to let the public see the truth for itself. And what the public saw revealed what we already knew to be true: this was a rigged investigation; enveloped in impropriety (namely, a "confidential source" that the NCAA still won't reveal); and all premised on an antiquated rule that the member institutions themselves have tried to eliminate as something that "no longer serve[s] the needs of the membership and the 21st century student-athlete." "The enforcement staff and the NCAA made it very clear that their feelings were hurt when they were exposed on Sign Stealer. But, through that process, the entire country saw the NCAA's investigation for what it was—a sham. The only way to deal with a bully and hypocrite is to expose them to the public and make sure everyone knows exactly what they are trying to do behind closed doors. We did that. We will continue to fight the NCAA anywhere and everywhere we can." "This investigation would have been thrown out of any court by any judge in the country. There was no due process and the entire investigation stems from improper conduct by the NCAA itself. The NCAA is the investigator, judge and jury, which is why the outcome is always—always—the same when the enforcement staff decides to target a coach or player." "Indeed, as for the rule itself, we hope you get a chance to read the transcript of the hearing on this matter, because it shows just how out of step the NCAA is with any concept of justice known in this country. You will see that the committee itself could not and did not understand the rule they were trying to enforce. But the found Connor to have violated it dozens of times nonetheless. Such a result would not stand in any court in America." "The NCAA claims to be about protecting amateurism in college sports. It does not. The halls of the NCAA headquarters are lined with millions-of-dollars' worth of art paid for on the backs of superstars like Johnny Manziel, Reggie Bush, and the thousands of student athletes who worked for free while the NCAA and its member institutions profited billions. Let's not forget that while the NCAA went after Reggie Bush after he left USC, and took his Heisman away, it let USC continue to proudly display O.J. Simpson's Heisman in Heritage Hall." "During the hearing in this case, while inside the blacked-out star chamber where the NCAA talked about defending amateur athletics, on the outside, universities throughout the Big 10 were discussing how to spend some $20 million annually to pay "amateurs" to be professional athletes (as they should be). That result—the House settlement—came about because the NCAA couldn't come to grips with the fact that its very existence is an affront to American free-market principles. The NCAA was too slow and too arrogant to do the right thing until a group of lawyers made them. The NCAA still has not learned its lesson; House was only the beginning of the end for this truly un-American institution." "Connor is glad that this process is now behind him. All he wants to do is be a part of the sport he loves, football and those who, like him, are passionate about pursuing the game to its highest level. He hopes that resolution of this process will provide him with that chance, even if the NCAA will not." Of the multiple NCAA sanctions levied, Stalions was the only party who was charged with violating the initial 'advanced scouting' infraction. As for Michigan's side, it plans to appeal the ruling and the subsequent penalties.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
NCAA COI spares Michigan's wins, titles, bans in ‘signgate' due to ineligible player rule
For years now, rival fans and media, and some national media, waited with bated breath, insisting that the NCAA was going to vacate Michigan football's victories from 2021-23, the national championship, and then institute a postseason ban for years to come. But on Friday, the NCAA did levy a hefty punishment in terms of fines, recruiting prohibitions, and show-cause penalties, but nowhere were the two big things that constituted the supposed 'hammer' that was set to drop. After the NCAA Committee on Infractions released its findings, chair Norman Bay and panelist Kay Norton spoke with reporters, answering their questions about the ruling. First, addressing vacating games and stripping the championship, both noted that Michigan's violations did not meet the rubric that the NCAA uses to do so. "First, vacation of records is only in play when there's ineligible competition," Bay said. "That was not a factor present in this case. And so it was not a penalty. In other words, that could be considered, and we did not impose it." "I was just going to add that, in addition, the NCAA took very quick action once it was apprised of the possibility of these violations," Norton added. "And therefore, there was insufficient evidence in the record that the outcome of games was affected." As far as postseason bans are concerned, the 74-page decision noted directly that it wouldn't do so because of the effect it would have on the current student-athletes. While the decision noted that a postseason ban actually would have been appropriate, it noted that a financial penalty was more appropriate, as that wouldn't rob the current players for things that happened outside of their purview. In addition to Michigan's status as a repeat violator, the panel also considered the current state ofcollege athletics when arriving at appropriate penalties. Aligning penalties with the currentlandscape required deviating in some areas—namely, postseason ban and scholarship the fact that the current landscape of college athletics has evolved faster than potentialchanges to the Figure 19-1 Penalty Guidelines does not absolve Michigan from required core penalties. The panel remained true, where possible, to the Figure 19-1 Penalty Guidelines. Inareas where it could not, it prescribed appropriate equivalent penalties. For instance, the panelconverted the required postseason ban and scholarship reductions to equivalent financial penalties. A postseason ban is required in this case. Michigan's case is Level I-Aggravated. See Bylaw19.12.7.1 (establishing that postseason bans are reserved for Level I cases that lack exemplarycooperation and shall be prescribed in Level I-Aggravated cases). Michigan is also a repeatviolator. See Bylaw 19.12.6.2 (identifying that repeat violator status is sufficient grounds toprescribe a postseason ban, even in cases where the institution earned exemplary cooperation).Given those facts, a multi-year postseason ban would be appropriate. That said, the NCAAConstitution states, 'Division and, as appropriate, conference regulations must ensure to thegreatest extent possible that penalties imposed for infractions do not punish programs and studentathletes not involved nor implicated in the infractions.' See NCAA Constitution 4-B-4. The paneldetermines that a postseason ban would unfairly penalize student-athletes for the actions ofcoaches and staff who are no longer associated with the Michigan football program. Thus, a moreappropriate penalty is an offsetting financial penalty. Bay and Norton reiterated this when asked if they would have more so considered a postseason ban if Jim Harbaugh was still the head coach. Both refused to play that hypothetical, still acknowledging that they did not want to harm the current Michigan players. Norton added, however, again that would have been more likely with ineligible players used, which wasn't the case here. "I don't, I should defer to Kay on this one, but I think you're asking us to engage in speculation," Bay said. "And so I don't really know what the answer to that question would be, but I think it's fair to say that the NCAA has said that it wants to ensure that penalties that are imposed do not harm or penalize current student athletes who had nothing to do with a violation that may have occurred in a sports program. And so even if -- but the difference in your hypothetical would be that Harbaugh was still the head coach, but still you would worry about penalizing student athletes, but I really can't speculate on the answer to that question." "I would simply add that it's unknowable and that I'm not sure there's a connection between Harbaugh's employment status and the question of a postseason ban," Norton said. "Which, again, is triggered by ineligible competition. If he were, had remained employed at Michigan, there probably would have been additional or complex, or different issues about cooperation and the nature of any show cause order that might have been issued, but it's all complete speculation. So that's not really our department." Meanwhile, an Ohio State writer filibustered on the conference call, confused as to why Michigan wasn't punished more to his or his constituency's liking. Bay answered simply: "I think it's important to reiterate a point that President Norton made, and that is that because the NCAA faced with this truly unprecedented situation, decided to notify the Big Ten and Michigan on October 17, 2023, Michigan was able to respond pretty quickly," Bay said. "Mr. Stalions was suspended from the football program the next day, and shortly thereafter, in about two weeks or so, he ended up leaving Michigan. And so after October 17, 2023, there's no evidence that anything that he did affected the outcome of Michigan's games that season. And, I hear your concern about the penalty, but I think the penalty here was very significant. I think it was meaningful, and I think it sends a message to the membership that these rules matter, that having a compliance program and a strong culture of compliance matter, and that schools and individuals that fail to comply will be held accountable." Now the Wolverines can put this debacle behind them, for the most part. Of course, they're now under probation and Sherrone Moore has a two-year show-cause penalty, in addition to the fines and recruiting restrictions. But for now, there's no more waiting and wondering what the NCAA might do -- that part of this saga is over.
