Because John Brown has had to wait so long to hear from the NCAA Clearinghouse, Gator fans are up in arms. They envision a bunch of suits sitting around in an office smoking cigars and having their fantasy drafts while Brown’s file sits on a desk somewhere.
There are two truths here that people have to understand:
1. The NCAA has to process the admissions of thousands of college athletes from all of its member institutions in every sport. This isn’t a Florida thing and it’s not a football thing.
2. It’s John Brown’s fault, not the NCAA’s. He’s the one who qualified by the skin of his teeth. If he just didn’t take high school seriously until he had to, he has nobody to blame but himself for his predicament.
If you want to get after the NCAA, here’s the issue. The organization needs to hire more people to deal with these types of issues. Because even with my tough stance on the situation, it is still ridiculous with classes almost two weeks old not to know if someone is eligible or not.
There is plenty of money in college athletics. Put more into your governing organization. Do the right thing and quit continuing this amazing level of hypocrisy. Your highest priority is the student-athlete? Tell that to John Brown.
