An Alabama Fan's Open Letter to the NCAA: You Finally Got One Right

The verdict is in, and finally the NCAA got it right for once.

The Birmingham News' Ian Rapoport is reporting that the University of Alabama has been under investigation for improper use of textbooks by some scholarship athletes.

It was discovered in 2007 and reported to the NCAA at that time that some athletes were receiving textbooks and letting friends and family use them. That would normally be considered a minor violation under the NCAA rules.

The catch was Alabama was still in the five year probation window stemming from the Albert Means case from 2001. That being the case, it could or could not be considered under the repeat violation rule and be treated as a major violation under NCAA rules.

This took place between 2005 and 2007 and was self-reported by Alabama officials after it was discovered. Of the almost 200 reported incidents there were only seven football players involved and the majority involved other sports at Alabama.

The NCAA has ruled that Alabama football will have to vacate all games in which these seven players involved participated in. This includes up to 21 games from the years 2005, 2006, and 2007 combined; it may not include any games that were played after it was reported and stopped.

Those players involved were suspended, starting with the 2007 game against Tennessee by Alabama per instructions from the NCAA, so games that took place after that time may not be involved.

The ruling also included a three year extension to the probation period and more penalties to other sports involved. It did not include any loss of scholarships for the future.

The Football program in comparison had a very small part in the improper use of textbooks problem. 

If this report is true and we have all the facts, I just want to say the NCAA got it right this time and justice was served. 

Alabama admitted that mistakes were made and they should have caught it sooner. So, some sort of punishment was in order.

The only bone I would pick with the NCAA was about throwing the baby out with the bath-water in this case. Among the 201 individual cases of misuse of textbooks, only 22 were found to be intentional, yet all sports and all athletes were included in the figures and penalties.

When the NCAA announces to the media that 16 sports and 201 athletes were involved, it paints Alabama as a mess when in fact only 22 athletes were taking advantage of the over-site in a handful of sports. 

I have written several articles criticizing the NCAA and its uneven handling of Alabama in the past, and even though I still see the unfairness of teams like USC sliding by on more severe violations while the NCAA focuses on Alabama, I see this penalty as fair.

Why?

First of all, they are punishing the ones who made the mistake instead of punishing the ones left behind. Usually, the NCAA passes down a penalty that includes loss of scholarships and includes loss of participation in television games and Bowl games.

This, in my opinion, was wrong because it punished the players and the coaches that had little or nothing to do with the violation, because usually the players and coaches involved are long gone.

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