Sunday, October 21, 2007

University of Alabama Suspends 5 in New Textbook Scandal

Coming in the wake of the recent penalties against Ball State, the University of Alabama made the following announcement minutes before yesterdays game against Tennessee:
TUSCALOOSA – The University of Alabama has suspended five football student-athletes – Antoine Caldwell, Glen Coffee, Marlon Davis, Marquis Johnson, and Chris Rogers – for today’s game with the University of Tennessee for a violation of institutional policy involving impermissible receipt of textbooks. The infraction was discovered on Thursday, and the school immediately initiated an inquiry that is ongoing. The student-athletes were informed of the suspensions on Friday upon the initial results of the inquiry. The University is still in a fact-finding phase and will release further details when it is completed. “This is a situation that developed late this week and we are actively investigating,” said Director of Athletics Mal Moore. “These suspensions are a measure aimed at dealing with the facts as we know them at this time. While I cannot discuss the situation in great detail, I can assure you we will address it fully when we have completed this inquiry."
Coach Nick Saban commented:

Obviously, there were some players who did not use good judgment in what they did. I don't know all the circumstances surrounding it. There's also a system in place that shouldn't allow this to happen that obviously didn't work. . . . It's poor judgment on the players' part. You've heard me say this before. We can't tolerate poor judgment. You need to do what's right, and when you don't do what's right, most of the time there's serious consequences for it. . . . We're going to support those players and help those guys be successful. It ain't a problem.

Move along. Move along. Nothing to see hear. . .

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know, I don't quite understand this. What in the world is "impermissible receipt of textbooks?" Shouldn't the school be *giving* them textbooks? Could the team have suspended them because boosters bought their *school*books? Could they have stolen books from the athletic dept stash for resale? It really doesn't make much sense.

Superdestroyer said...

While trying to find out some information about this (of which there is little on the internet), it seems that the university was giving books to non-scholarship athletes, giving scholarship atheltes books to classes that the athletes were not enrolled in, or giving the students two books for the same class.

I think this plus charge accounts at campus bookstores is an indirect way of giving the athletes money(returning books for refunds, selling books bank, selling books to other students).

Profane said...

Dance,

Under NCAA regulations, schools may provide scholarship student-athletes their course books. This is done in a number of different ways. At Ball State, for example, this was done by giving each student-athlete a store account against which their book purchases could be credited. At Alabama it was done, according to press reports, by giving each student, each semester, the appropriate sets of books for their courses.

In the Ball State case, this became excessive financial aid in violation of NCAA regulations when some student-athletes used their accounts to purchase books for friends or for sale, or refund, back to the bookstore.

At this point, it is unclear how the student-athletes received excessive benefits in the Alabama case. It could be months before we know.

Anonymous said...

I think that it is all political crap! I don't even like Bama (War Eagle), but what is going on is not clean. The practice of athletes getting (borrowing)books goes on all over the country. Having spoken to one of the suspended players directly, not all involved athletes are being punished and in his case, this particularplayer did not sell any books or return any for a profit, heonly tried to help out a couple of students who could not afford a book that is marked up excessively and resold for multiple profits to the UA bookstore (they are not alone). In meeting with representatives, the players story was not to be heard. Maybe Saben was not what they wanted after all and this is one way to make for a bad season? That will sure end a career, for everyone......sad isn't it.

Profane said...

Anonymous,

If your story is true (and I am always distrustful of anonymous comments which claim inside knowledge) then it is a clear NCAA violation.

Policies of buying or lending course books for student-athletes are, of course widespread as they are within the bounds of accepted benefits. If these benefits were utilized to provide books for persons other than scholarship student athletes, then it falls into the category of extra benefits.

If others are involved, then it is the responsibility of the UA compliance department to investigate it fully, and report to the NCAA. The first step in that process apparently happened yesterday afternoon.

As for Saban himself, his fate with be decided by his record on the field, except in the unlikely event that he had knowledge of what was going on and failed to report it.