Open Letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert: Reform Starts at the Top

Dear Mr. Emmert:

The recent Miami Hurricane scandal elicited a tepid response from your office, acknowledging that the system is flawed, but laying most of the blame on agents and boosters.  If you really want true transformational reform, you don't need to look past the proverbial mirror for a good starting point.

Let's begin with your enforcement process.  Last May, the NCAA held a mock inquiry for the media in an effort to be more transparent.  Yet since the latest Dee-sized scandal to hit the NCAA, you've failed to answer the most obvious question: How in the world was Paul Dee, the man overseeing the NCAA's most corrupt athletic department since SMU, ever put in charge of a Committee on Infractions in the first place? 

Even before the latest news about boosters running wild right under Dee's nose, it wasn't exactly a secret that Dee was at the helm during what's been described as the worst case of institutionalized Pell Grant fraud ever.  After all, it was your own organization that sanctioned Miami for the egregious violations that took place under his watch. You can't say you didn't know.

There's an old saying that goes something like this: you don't put a fox in charge of the hen house.  You want transparency?   Explain how a guy like Paul Dee was ever allowed to decide another school's fate.  If you don't have an explanation, admit it.  But make sure it never happens again.

Next, do something even more radical: revisit the USC sanctions.  Declare the equivalent of a mistrial and/or reopen the appeals process.  It might be convenient to declare that there's no precedent for that, but the problem with that argument is that there was no precedent for USC's punishment either.  Here are two reasons why you can, and should, reopen USC's appeal.

First, recent headlines have confirmed that former Hurricanes who were implicated in the Nevin Shapiro scandal, but have since transferred from Miami, have been offered immunity in exchange for their testimony.  According to reports, the NCAA's enforcement officers have declared that extraordinary cases demand extraordinary measures.  The USC sanctions, in light of the latest Miami scandals, qualify as an extraordinary case.  The time is ripe for another exception.

Secondly, Ted Miller of Fox Sports recently reported in his blog that one member of the COI was openly hostile to USC's representatives, to the point of actually misstating facts. This allegation is serious and demands a thorough investigation.  If true, the very process is tainted with corruption

You want true reform, Mr. Emmert?  Do something radical, do something crazy, do something right.  Use your powers to fully investigate the corruption that was the USC hearing before the COI, and give USC a new and impartial appeals hearing. 

Then maybe we'll start taking your talk of reform seriously. Until then, here's another old saying: talk is cheap.