Hey, folks! As you may know, I am from Alabama and am an Alabama football fan. Recently, Alabama was hit yet again with very harsh penalties by the NCAA, and I think what Alabama has been through has been unfair. So I wrote this to Dr. Paul Dee, head of the NCAA Committee on Infractions, and I wanted to share it on my blog:
Dear Dr. Dee,
I am a teacher in ethics and philosophy, and currently a Ph.D. student in Philosophy and Literature at Purdue University. If you do take the time to read this, I appreciate it very much. I have been observing NCAA infractions cases of late, and I have cause for alarm and concern, and, though I am sure this will do little good, I nevertheless feel compelled to write you about my concerns.
In particular, I have noticed that the NCAA seems to hammer some schools, while leaving others absolutely alone. This seems like a very biased system, based on revenge and spite, rather than uniformity and consistency. I’ll be the first to admit that life isn’t fair, and that there is no system that can ultimately be fair. However, the NCAA’s system causes me great alarm, as there seems to be no attempt whatsoever at fairness, but rather at “making examples” selectively of some schools, while turning a blind eye toward others. And there is no attempt at uniformity of penalties, which seems to me to be very important, from an ethical standpoint.
Take, for example, the University of Alabama of late: twice, this University acted proactively and was ultimately severely punished for doing so. In the Beamon case, an assistant coach tried to get boosters to pay for a player, the boosters turned the coach in, and the coach was fired. The result? The window was extended for the school, leading to far harsher penalties in a later case.
Then, this recent book scandal case, which the University again acted proactively and cooperated with the NCAA, only to be penalized harshly.
On the other hand, schools that do not cooperate with the NCAA fare far better. What kind of message does this send? As an ethicist myself, I am concerned that the message you send is this: it is better to cover up things than follow the rules. This is a dangerous message to be sending in the field of college athletics.
Thus, the University of Alabama is now in danger of the death penalty, for being proactive. How does this make sense?
Please consider the following two cases, far more severe than athletes giving away textbooks that were returned, in which the NCAA turned an absolute blind eye. The following is taken from http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/extras/2009/ferpaextras.html:
“Those who call out schools for breaking NCAA rules often find themselves ostracized by fans, their communities and their own universities. While the NCAA won’t publicly name whistleblowers, they often become known through other sources, including newspaper stories, court records, and even university officials. Some go public on their own after their allegations are dismissed by school officials. Here are some of their stories:
“Linda Bensel-Meyers
“School: Tennessee
“Job: English professor
“Allegation: She accused football players of academic fraud in an 1999 ESPN.com report, saying that papers were being plagiarized and athletes were receiving grades they didn’t earn.
“Allegation: Tennessee launched its own investigation and forwarded the results to the NCAA, which investigated the matter but dropped the case in March 2000. Bensel-Meyers said she was prevented by then-UT President Wade Gilley from showing allegedly damaging academic records to an NCAA investigator. Two years later, syndicated Tennessee journalist Bob Gilbert said he had papers given to him by Bensel-Meyers that showed a clear and consistent pattern of academic fraud at Tennessee. Again, the NCAA found no reason to punish the university.
“Personal fallout: Bensel-Meyers received death threats, some involving her children. She said her office was burglarized and her phone line tapped. People spat on her. Air was let out of her car’s tires. She moved to Colorado in 2002, where she now works as an associate professor at the University of Denver. Her husband refused to leave, she said, so they divorced. Her two oldest sons, who were finishing high school, also stayed in Tennessee. Bensel-Meyers has twice undergone operations for digestive tract issues she said were related to the stress caused by her coming forward.
…
“James Gundlach
“School: Auburn
“Job: Sociology professor
“Allegation: He made allegations in a 2006 New York Times story that 18 members of the undefeated 2004 Auburn football team, including star running back Cadillac Williams, took a combined 97 hours of sociology professor Thomas Petee’s courses during their careers. Petee was accused of helping football players stay eligible by offering independent study classes that required little work or no work.
“NCAA action: Auburn promptly conducted an internal investigation and cleared athletics officials of any wrongdoing in 2006. Two years later, the NCAA found no major rules violations or instances of academic fraud in its review of independent-study courses at Auburn. Although the NCAA said the school was guilty of secondary infractions, no penalties were imposed on Auburn.
“Personal fallout: Gundlach was vilified by Auburn fans. He received numerous hate e-mails and said the university tried to discredit him. A former Auburn player said the professor’s accusations were “total lies” and questioned his motives. Gundlach said he also received a lot of public support. He has since retired after 30-plus years of teaching at the university. Gundlach received the Drake Group’s 2008 Robert Maynard Hutchins Award, which honors an individual “who has shown courage in standing up for academic integrity in the face of commercialized college sports.” ”
Again, I know life isn’t fair.
But surely an organization like the NCAA should be concerned with fairness across the board, not picking on certain schools while turning a blind eye toward others.
And I know our criminal justice system isn’t fair, but at least there should be attempts to make sure there is uniformity in punishment.
Your Committee on Infractions unfortunately has a history of simply choosing whatever punishment it feels like. There is no uniformity. There is no attempt at consistency.
Surely, as a law school professor yourself, you must be concerned about this?
Thank you for your time.
Yours,
Richmond West, Ph.D. student in Philosophy and Literature, and teacher in ethics and philosophy
