NCAA Must See Self-Imposed Ban Is Not Punishment For Syracuse

Nothing admits guilt more than punishing yourself, and it is safe to assume that the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball program is guilty. We just don’t know of what. Well, we sort of know, but there is still plenty of confusing elements to the story. Anyway, Cuse is guilty and they confirmed this with a self-imposed post-season ban of all tournaments including the ACC Tourney, the NCAA Tournament and the NIT.

All of this hoopla stems from an investigation conducted back in October into allegations that Syracuse violated academic and eligibly rules. Players who either did not meet academic standards or failed drug tests still played despite ineligibly. At least that is what all sources and reports say. The NCAA has yet to release its report, but here’s something funny, these allegations were reported by Syracuse itself! So, it has to be true?

Now, the story goes that the school reported itself to the NCAA in 2007, but all violations occurred before 2012. I don’t know if that means that they continued to commit violations after they reported themselves or what, but I am confused. Then add this self-imposed “penalty” and the story just gets even crazier.

As an alumni of Syracuse University, I have read multiple articles and also received a letter from the Chancellor that was sent out to all alumni announcing the penalty. I have come to a conclusion that all of this is a way to fool the NCAA. The school is playing the role of a young child that feels guilty about doing something wrong. The guilty child goes running to mommy crying and admitting guilt in hopes of foregoing any punish. To put the cherry on the sundae, add a self-imposed punishment in an attempt to gain sympathy.

The NCAA needs to look past all of this and continue with its own sanctions against Syracuse. The team was an NIT bid at best, and let’s be honest, no one cares about the NIT. So, this punish really isn’t a punishment at all. Handing down sanctions now may not be fair to current players, but something must be done to scare the other schools. Let me rephrase that, try to scare the other schools. The NCAA needs to wake up and smell the roses, because they are being played like a fiddle.

Shane Phillips is an Lead NBA Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow Shane on Twitter @ShaneRantSports, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also email Shane at [email protected].