USC Football: The NCAA and the Curious Case of Todd McNair

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Frederick Shaller has found evidence to suggest the NCAA showed "actual malice" in its investigation of former USC assistant coach Todd McNair during the NCAA investigation into improprieties surrounding Reggie Bush.

With those two words, scores of USC alumni, boosters, trustees, administrators, students and fans let out a whoop of joy knowing that the country would soon know what the USC faithful have known all along—that the NCAA is a crooked, criminal, corrupt agency with no oversight, no precedence to follow, which acts with malice and bias based on who sits on their Committee on Infractions at any particular point in time.

May Paul Dee roast in hell.  For a little back story (though I doubt any readers need to be reminded) Paul Dee, former Miami Athletic Director who presided over some of the most egregious shenanigans in his school’s history—was the head of the Committee on Infractions while the NCAA’s investigation into USC was happening.

Oh, the irony, as the allegations at Miami, in my opinion are much much worse than anything that may or may not have happened at USC. Yet Mr. Dee slammed USC with “lack of institutional control.”

It seems the true lack of institutional control label should be applied to the NCAA itself rather than to USC, SMU, Alabama,  Penn State, Miami, Oregon, Auburn or any other of the schools currently or formerly under investigation.

But I digress. Last Wednesday the news broke in Los Angeles that Shaller had denied the NCAA’s request to have McNair’s case dismissed. Shaller found, after reviewing the NCAA’s sealed documents pertaining to McNair’s inquiry, that the actions of the NCAA investigators in the case of McNair (and presumably, most if not all of the USC investigation) were “over the top.”

Oh how delicious. Look, it has long been the opinion of USC pundits and fans that McNair got a raw deal. So some justice being served while also forcing the NCAA to be transparent is a good thing.  For that matter, why does the NCAA get to seal its own records? In any other hearing, the parties on both sides have the right to discovery.

Not so in the NCAA. This shadowy, corrupt organization conducts business as it sees fit. Shaller found the NCAA’s report on breaches in ethics by McNair to be very flawed, giving credence to the former USC assistant coach’s defamation lawsuit.

It should be noted that Shaller’s undergraduate degree is from USC. This is not considered a conflict of interest.

It has been reported by both the Los Angeles Times, CBS Sports and USCFootball.com that the NCAA is aggressively trying to keep its investigation documentation under seal. Now come on, how fishy is that?

If the NCAA didn’t have anything to hide, it would not be fighting so hard to avoid being forced to release its documents.

The release of the documents surrounding the NCAA’s investigation of USC, McNair, Bush etc. would be like a Christmas gift for USC fans. I, for one, cannot wait to get my hands on them and see what really happened in that investigation.

Judge Shaller’s decision was made public last week and shows that, based on his review of the NCAA reports, at least three people may have tried to improperly influence the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions in its case against McNair. Shaller’s decision contains parts of emails that he has ruled show “ill will or hatred” towards the former USC assistant.

Judge Shaller’s decision reveals the detail and lengths the NCAA went to to build its case against McNair, which much of its case against Bush and USC hinged upon. The decision went on to say that the NCAA had a “reckless disregard for the truth.”

Digest that for a moment. Go ahead, feel glee. Feel vindication.

McNair attempted to sue the NCAA in 2011 and was denied. Shaller’s decision concluded that the NCAA showed “actual malice” in pursuing McNair, using false information produced by the NCAA to make its case. Dates were fudged, facts were faked, and the word of a convicted felon (Lloyd Lake) was determined to be credible while McNair was determined to be morally bankrupt. Shaller rejected all of this after his review of the documentation.

Shaller’s decision stated that the NCAA “should have known” parts of the infractions report were “demonstrably untrue.”

Holy cow.

Judge Shaller has said that he will unseal the NCAA’s inquiry into McNair. Of course the NCAA has 30 days to appeal, but assuming (oh please!) the NCAA is denied that appeal based on Shaller’s decision, the public would have access to the files that would show the process the NCAA took to slam USC with sanctions in the Bush case.

Now, let’s deal for a brief moment in UNCONFIRMED RUMORS from multiple sources close to the USC football program.

Again-these are simply rumors—but they are too delicious to ignore.

1. Supposedly the USC Board of Trustees has voted unanimously to sue the NCAA.
2. Supposedly Pat Haden has told Lane Kiffin to “go for 25” (recruits, rather than the 15 USC is allowed under current scholarship sanctions).

This is all very interesting, and I don’t know about you, but the unsealing of the NCAA reports and investigation is something I cannot wait for. The proverbial poop is hitting the fan where the NCAA is concerned.

It is so fitting that it could be USC to take this corrupt governing body of college athletics down.

 

 

 

 

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1424688-usc-football-the-ncaa-and-the-curious-case-of-todd-mcnair

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