NCAA Sets Dangerous Precedent In James Wiseman Case

In Wiseman’s case, the NCAA says: you can’t make money, you can’t earn money, but we can take money from you that you don’t have.

This week, the NCAA announced the punishment for the projected #1 pick in next year’s NBA Draft, James Wiseman. The Memphis center has been suspended for 11 games and fined $11,500. The money is to go to a charity of Wiseman’s choosing.

Courtesy: NBS Sports

For those not familiar with the circumstances, Wiseman became the focal point of an NCAA investigation for accepting money from a coach. That coach, Penny Hardaway, paid for him and his mother to move closer to their AAU basketball team. At the time, Wiseman was in high school and Hardaway was not affiliated with Memphis U basketball. He was an AAU coach.

But upon discovering that prior relationship and what had happened, the NCAA suspended Wiseman indefinitely. Wiseman and Memphis then took legal action against the NCAA, and that court action delayed the inevitable punishment.

The NCAA responded by declaring that it would not discuss the matter unless and until Wiseman and Memphis dropped the court case. Now the NCAA ruling is in. That ruling came in the form of a suspension and–surprisingly–a fine.

That fine sets a dangerous precedent. The NCAA punished a young man who took money because he could not afford to travel to his AAU games. Now the NCAA is making him pay more money than he had in the first place. The NCAA is essentially saying this: Although they will not allow Wiseman (or any other player, for that matter) to make money, they will take money from him (and them).

At issue, of course, is how Wiseman will pay his fine. He clearly doesn’t have the money. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have needed money in the first place.

I believe the NCAA is walking a dangerous path. And the bigger question is: Where does this stop? You can’t make money. You can’t earn money. However, the NCAA can take the money you don’t have.

It makes sense only in ‘NCAA world.’