If you're a Kansas Jayhawks fan then it's not going to be a good week for you. Now that the big news of the NCAA issuing notice of 5 level one allegations of violations has set in there's only going to be continued bad press for the program. To top it off KU seems aligned to begin fighting this off so headlines are going to continue to pound the program.
The allegations of recruitment violations stem from the federal court case that rocked the college sports world last year. During that trial T.J. Gassnola, the former Adidas consultant, testified that he broke the law to bring students to Kansas but that he was not in cooperation with head coach Bill Self or the rest of this staffing team to do so. The NCAA seems to feel this isn't true and appears to be convinced that Self and his coaching team were aware of what was going on.
As this plays out it could lead to a lot of trouble for the program. Not only will this continue to be a distraction for the team this season but it could lead to quite a few more problems. Silva De Sousa, who has already sat out all of last season based on his connection to the investigation, won his appeal to be reinstated for this season though that may be taken back now. It could also mean the rest of the team may be affected as well as future penalties could be levied such as removing their NCAA tournament eligibility or even worse removing their scholarship offers based on the violations.
This all seems nonsense to myself. It seems pretty widely understood that the top talent is being paid in some way. I remember hearing that Demarcus Cousins was often seen driving a luxury car during his time in Lexington. If you know anything about Cousins history you'd doubt he'd have the funds during college to be rolling with that kind of force. I have to imagine that some booster somewhere was certainly greasing his wheels so to speak. That being said what's the problem with it?
These kids have real talent. They are some of the few in the nation that can compete on this level so why shouldn't they be allowed to earn for their successes? Its silly to say they can't!
It makes me wonder what will happen when the first booster realizes the capabilities of SPORTS and its ability to reward anyone for their sporting efforts. What happens when one of T.J. Gassnola's peers starts buying up lots of Steem and SPORTS and telling players to just begin posting about their practice on #sportstalk and begins upvoting them. Would that be a violation of NCAA rules? I would imagine it is based on their draconian efforts to ensure they collect all of the money in this industry but good luck stopping them when the first agent realizes what's available out here!
