Bill Self, Coach Cal, and Unfair Scandals: The Double-Edged Standard of the NCAA Rulebook

We brought you news earlier today of a possible scandal brewing at Kansas, after it was revealed that people associated with Jayhawk star Ben McLemore were taking and giving money to each other for whatever reason.  Essentially, McLemore’s AAU coach was taking money in order to steer him toward a particular agent/agency.  Almost none of this, as we know it right now, points to Kansas, or Bill Self, as being nefarious wrong-doers out to manipulate the recruiting system for their own ends; in fact, the goal was to point McLemore to an agent once he left KU for the NBA.  But that won’t stop the ridiculously unwieldy NCAA rulebook from trying to prove a point with the Jayhawks, possibly vacating or otherwise penalizing a pretty successful season.

Regardless of how this plays out, what we’ll have here is an interesting case study in the NCAA’s treatment of the “strict liability” standard they’re so quick to apply to coaches and universities, but reluctant to exercise on themselves.  You’ll recall that the NCAA made major mistakes last year when they illegally obtained information in their investigation of Miami, only to brush that under the rug by essentially saying “President Emmert didn’t know. It’s not our fault.”  Here, few folks, if any, will come out and say that Bill Self is at fault for the transaction, since he apparently knew as much about that as he does keeping his hairpiece a secret.  Loads of people are coming to his side of the line-in-the-sand, saying that any punishment meted on Self would be unjust.  And to my ears, that sounds right.

So why would the media defend Self while vilifying Cal for essentially the same transgression in 1996?  “Double standard” doesn’t mean it’s twice as true.  As usual, CBS Sports’ Gregg Doyel has what I think is the right take on all of this:

It’s not Self’s fault, just like it wasn’t Cal’s fault.

And that’s how all of this, inevitably, relates to Kentucky.  If the NCAA penalizes Self, which they shouldn’t, then Calipari has company as a coach who can decry his victimization.  And if the NCAA doesn’t penalize Self, well then the injustice against Cal will only become even more apparent.  As Doyel so eloquently put it, Cal never participated in any wrongdoing, just like Self hasn’t done anything wrong here:

People around Calipari cheated. No question about it. Agents gave money to UMass star Marcus Camby. A leech arranged for someone to pass himself off as Derrick Rose to get a standardized test score that would make Rose eligible as a college freshman.

Those people are not John Calipari.

Unfortunately, Kansas is probably going to get some sanctions.  It might be a loss of scholarships.  It might be a Sweet 16 vacation.  The NCAA just can’t keep their hands clean when they smell something like a scandal, even if the folks they have jurisdiction over are not the folks doing anything wrong.  Somebody will have to pay, unjustly or otherwise.  Calipari paid in ’96 and ’08.  Bill Self might have to pay now.

The bottom line, unfortunately, is that the NCAA looks for victims in order to display how strong their hand is, never worrying that the people they’re punishing might not deserve it.  They have to maintain order, and instead of inspiring compliance, they persecute perceived wrongdoers.

Unless it’s Duke.