For those living under a rock, the University of South Carolina got served with a letter of inquiry today. Then in a late night twist the NCAA gives the green light for Chris Culliver to play against Georgia this weekend. This is a soap opera that needs to come to a conclusion, so the NCAA can go and mess with some other school.
(read more after the jump)
LOI
This formally opens up a new layer of the ongoing NCAA investigation in Columbia. It now shifts to the school itself. Before this point the focus was on the alleged wrongdoings of the players themselves. Now the NCAA will begin to see if the school is responsible in some way for what has occurred or if there was a lack of control from the University. I have read around the internet that the letter means the NCAA believes it has enough evidence to prove wrongdoings and it is up to the school to disprove what the NCAA thinks it knows.
Should you be worried? Not yet but it is a new twist in the saga that is serious in nature. This is part of the process. The school and the football program have been completely upfront about all this and that will continue to the very end. USC wants this to go away as much as we, the fans, do. It is an unwanted distraction.
Let’s review how we got here:
-
USC TE Weslye Saunders brings the attention of the NCAA to Columbia regarding his possible improper contact with agent(s) and circumstances surrounding a spring break trip to Miami
-
Next we see the investigation shift into the NCAA examining several players’ living arrangements at The Whitney Hotel and any “special benefits.” This included roughly 10 USC players getting looked at but getting somewhat sorted out before last week’s kickoff. Of the players that were living at the hotel, all but King and Saunders were cleared last week
-
Then and most recently USC DB Chris Culliver got looked at by the NCAA regarding an insurance policy he took out to protect his draft status against injury
So there you have it and this is where we are in the process. USC has a letter stating basically that the investigation continues and the NCAA is looking at some things a little further.
We here at LOHD do not want to speculate or assume.
We here at LOHD wish this to go away. This is a distraction. Spurrier and Co. can say it is not but it has to be. This team has loads of potential and has many important games coming up. The team needs to focus not worry about the NCAA. I hope they are doing just that.
Culliver Twist
NCAA makes up a bit for causing this Thursday to be a little frustrating. The NCAA gives the ok for Chris Culliver to play versus UGa. This storyline known as Carolina Football and the NCAA has so many twists and turns. But getting Culliver back is huge as it adds much needed depth for USC on the defensive side of the ball. He may be a little rusty out of the gate but with his talent his is a huge plus for Ellis on D. He will be a factor.
Now if we could settle the King and Saunders issue, this could be normal again and we could focus on football around here.
Again this is a soap opera, we need a map and we need this to end.
Related Content (via The State)
PDF: The NCAA’s letter to USC, Sept. 9, 2010
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
