Pay to Play Scandal: Should Van Malone Face Consequences for Violations?

Former Texas A&M defensive back coach Van Malone is coming out and saying that Willie Lyles, owner of an independent recruiting service out of Texas, told him that Patrick Peterson’s services were up for sale and that they would have to beat the offer to get him.

Malone, according to a report by ESPN’s Kelli Naqi, said that Lyles told him, “If you want this kid, there are other schools that want this kid as well. They're willing to pay a certain amount of money, around the $80,000 mark.”

Lyles is also in the midst of controversy surrounding recruits that signed with Oregon and LSU, with Oregon making a payment of $25,000 that is alleged to be for the services of top running back recruit Lache Seastrunk.

According to the report, Malone says that he didn’t inform then head coach Dennis Franchione about Lyles' request for payment because “he planned to continue to recruit Peterson without going through Lyles.”

So why does Malone feel the need to come out now, four years later, with these allegations?

Is his story credible? I would venture to say no. 

It seems a little suspicious that a guy that was fine keeping this alleged pay to play scandal a secret for four years would suddenly feel the need to make it public.

So what is Malone’s motivation here?

Did he suddenly get scruples and decide that the college game needs to be cleansed of corruption?

Is this his attempt to get back at Peterson for not choosing A&M?

What credibility does a guy that was at the heart of these alleged payments have if he never reported it? 

A guy like Malone is no different than a guy like Lyles if he doesn’t report the violations.  They are both despicable and bad for college football.

The only reason a person would have for not reporting a recruiting violation of this magnitude would be participation in similar activities.   

But why does Malone get off with no consequences?

The NCAA will undoubtedly conduct an investigation, and if Malone’s accusations turn out to be true, Texas A&M, LSU and Patrick Peterson will suffer consequences.

However, besides public opinion, coaches like Malone that leave one school for another, don’t have any repercussions for violations.

The school and player involved should bear some of the blame and suffer some consequences, but so should the coach. 

If not, we’re faced with situations where coaches play the dirty recruiting games until they either get caught or fired and then go elsewhere and resume their careers without consequences.

But instead, Malone goes away and four years later decides to cause trouble and controversy for his former employer and a player that turned him down to go elsewhere.

Van Malone is a perfect example of what is wrong with college football today, and he should be accountable for his actions, or lack thereof.

The NCAA should make an example of Malone to discourage coaches from playing dirty games and then pushing the consequences off onto their former schools and players.