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There's flip-flopping, there are changes of heart, and then there's just flat-out jerking people around. The NCAA has been toying around with North Carolina, Alabama, Middle Tennessee and others as it holds the Sword of Damocles over teams' heads before striking at the last possible second.
The last few days have been a nightmare for several programs as rulings are being made hours before kickoff, but this time, the team gets a win over The Man.
With this reversal of thought in the Jeremiah Masoli situation, we now know where the line is drawn Agents are bad, academic issues are bad, but stealing is not that big a deal as long as the player is really, really, really, really sorry (or at least says so in order to play football).
Normally I'm a believer in the one strike and out policy when it comes to college athletes breaking the law (the real kind, and not the pretend take-a-loan-from-an-agent version). However, if Masoli has paid his penance with the judicial system after his transgressions with police and after getting nailed for a theft and pot possession, fine. Whatever. I'd have a bigger issue if he committed some major crime and was a bad guy, and stealing obviously isn't O.K., but from all indications he's doing all the right things to try to get his career and his life back on track.
Does that mean he gets to be a part of the Ole Miss family and play this year? Yeah ... why not? But this also means that others deserve chances to make amends while getting the same breaks.
Every once in a while the players have to be given a win by the NCAA. I'm not sure going to the wall for Masoli is necessarily the right thing, but considering all the NCAA has done and all the havoc it has wreaked trying to protect its self-interests, and especially with its timing over the last few days in several cases, allowing Masoli to play is one mark for the other side. However, and here's the big issue the NCAA might have to answer for down the road: why is it O.K. for a convicted criminal to play right away, but not a guy who doesn't get charged with an actual crime?
Why is one kid allowed to play shortly away after allegedly stealing and smoking pot, and another kid who took a loan or went to the wrong party is getting punished? If you're an Alabama fan, you have to ask why Marcell Dareus is getting nailed while a fellow SEC West team gets a huge break. If you're a Middle Tennessee fan, you're going bonzo after losing possible Sun Belt Player of the Year Dwight Dasher just before a close loss to Minnesota.
If the NCAA really does believe that sometimes a player just needs a second chance, as is the case with Masoli, then the belief has to apply to its own made-up rules. Otherwise, be uniform and don't waver. Go ahead and reinstate Masoli, but remember this the next time some future NFLer takes a few bucks he probably shouldn't.
