The slimy university, though suitably in position to avoid the harsher punishment known as the Death Penalty, has no chance of curtailing the recent allegations. The wrongdoers accused of fraud are enabled to skate freely without paying for the crime, sadly aglow with pride, not ashamed of the deceit and infractions.
For the sordid scandal, leaving a toxic wasteland in Miami, a town shares the university's anxiety in a state of disbelief learning that the "U" stands for unbearable. If we insist on the fact that Miami has never broken NCAA rules -- which are prohibited and aren't meant to be broken ever -- then we are nonplussed and downright mindless.
So there he was, a former booster Nevin Shapiro who was a crook and sleaze ball, a deceptive jerk for influencing and brainwashing kids to allegedly take extra benefits. And the players, as usual, bent over backwards for Shapiro's treachery. There he is, incarcerated in prison after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme.
He told it all and revealed every accusation in an interview with Yahoo! Sports. What's even more egregious in the aftermath of the Miami scandal, is that more names are leaked to the allegations. If and when these accusations are proven to be true, we must not rule out the 37-word statement Purdue released last week, acknowledging there weren't "eligibility issues" with quarterback Robert Marve.
For this was ultimately an archetype to punish Miami, to teach a valuable lesson for a murky school disheveled. But you know and I know -- and the university knows -- that it should have had its most recent national title vacated and be placed on probation. When a scandal stretches beyond insanity, when the mere description of a name adds to the horror, the madness suddenly becomes worse. It feels like an episode from the Twilight Zone, if nothing else.
And really now, Marve was among 65 current or former Miami players leaked in the investigative report for allegedly accepting improper benefits from Shapiro. Marve, a top prospect was constantly in trouble, a testament to what was already a disconcerted program keeping many secrets of Miami's dirtiness and infractions. Even if none of the players are ineligible, allegedly accepting cash, gifts, access to VIP rooms in nightclubs and dinners at an expensive Miami Beach steakhouse, there's no excuse for Miami to break from its violations.
Now, the people running the Miami program are acting like uneducated fools, pretending as if the alleged scandal has never surfaced. No one here is taking full accountability for the rotten, noxious misdeeds humiliated by the insanity in the past week.
This is where the people are stunned a week later in disbelief as it brought forth a shocker to people's sensibilities from a logical standpoint. If the people weren't shaking their heads before over such an unbelievable event, they're now definitely shaking their heads worn down by the frequent disclosure of absurdity.
The public love is lost for Miami, a program accumulating much antipathy only for refreshing us with the memories of the ghastly scandal at USC that involved former running back Reggie Bush, who received improper benefits and cash to support his family. Or even when Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel was fired and blamed for the university's scandal of five players selling memorabilia for tattoos.
Those in the know realize that 72 players have been named and given bundles of cash and had prostitutes to satisfy their sexual activities, plausibly. This is horrible, a nasty scandal that only causes problems as the season quickly is upon us and as longtime athletic director Paul Dee, who was a chairman of the NCAA's infraction committee, is liable for the blame.
It would be simple to abandon Mark Emmert of the NCAA, the president serving in office as a disgrace, if nothing else. In fact, he has not impressed no one during his regime and already has been humiliated, not too sure exactly what his plans are to put an end to the misdeeds. It's not happening soon, in fact, it may not even happen this decade but many years from now.
Dee is just as much as a fraud as Miami sadly and he's evidently apathetic. There is enough evidence to punish the Hurricanes harshly and, if the NCAA handed sanctions to USC and Ohio State, then in fairness -- shouldn't Miami be penalized after the university was found guilty from the details provided by Shapiro if he's telling the truth?
Yes, indeed Miami should be chastised.
What sort of punishment should we expect from the NCAA? None? Maybe.
In that same breath, as one of the hottest topics in sports, it's vague at the moment whether or not the NCAA will hit Miami with the Death Penalty, which would be a historical punishment if the association drops the hammer on the Hurricanes. If so, then the Canes are banned for an entire season, a missed season for one of the most prestigious teams in the nation for Miami's previous history of dominating the Atlantic Coast Conference and stockpiling titles, profoundly armed to pursue national championships with such tactful recruiting and mentoring of players.
The worse that could happen is the death penalty, judging from SMU's troubles when the program diminished and plunged so fast that it still hasn't recovered. This is where Miami comes to mind as the NCAA wants to use the tainted school as an example by issuing the death penalty, which means no games but players would be allowed to practice in only conditioning drills in shorts and no pads.
Whatever the NCAA people running the association have in mind, Miami doesn't need to be punished really bad but the NCAA just needs to send a message and particularly after the athletic department was incompliant and had been aware of the transgressions crippling a popular program in the nation. The spectrum of violations, even if Shapiro was profoundly immersed into Miami’s athletic culture, is reprehensible for a university that allegedly breaks the rules and disrespects academia. Guilty as charged.
All I know is Miami should be slapped with 2-year probation.
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