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An Open Letter to the NCAA
Garrett Kasey
Feb. 22, 2018
Dear NCAA,
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| Garrett Kasey Class of 2020 |
This week,
your actions sent a shock throughout the entire Louisville community. As a fan
and student, I am appalled by your decision to remove wins from the record of
the University’s men’s basketball team, including the 2013 National
Championship. There are many reasons that this decision is unfair to our
community, and your decision only serves to prove that your rulings are
inconsistent from case to case. I acknowledge that the actions of multiple
members of the University’s men’s basketball program were wrong, but your
punishment does not affect them. This penance will be unwillingly paid by the
entire Louisville community.
Let’s begin
with the terrible inconsistency when it comes to handing down punishment to
schools who violate NCAA rules. News broke in 2011 that the University of North
Carolina had been allowing student athletes to take fraudulent “paper-classes”
in order to remain eligible for their sports for almost twenty years. During
this time span, UNC won the 2005 men’s basketball National Championship. After
your lengthy investigation, no punishment was given to the University’s
basketball program. How can you justify that? It is clear that UNC’s actions
were contrary to NCAA rules, and it is inexcusable that you would not punish
their athletic programs. Your decision to not punish the teams or require them
to vacate wins or their National Championship are especially troubling due to
the fact that their actions more directly impacted the ability of their men’s
basketball team to perform at high levels than did the infractions at UofL.
Without those “paper-classes” it is likely that many of their players would not
have even been eligible to play.
Fast-forward
to the present. After another one of your investigations, this time into the
UofL men’s basketball program, you have decided to lay down a sweeping
punishment to the University. This punishment is entirely unfair. The
infractions were committed by coaches and staff, not by players. The punishment
should reflect that. Punish the coaches and staff. Don’t punish the kids that
are forgotten about in all of this mess. Punish the coaches and staff. Don’t
punish the fans who did nothing wrong. Punish the guilty. Don’t punish those
who could do nothing about it.
Sincerely,
A Louisville Student and
Fan
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Although as Interim-President
Postel put it, “We believe the NCAA is simply wrong,” we must find a way to
continue after this dark period for the University. Our future is still bright;
our athletic programs as a whole are still wildly successful. Our University
life is booming, and being a Cardinal is continually becoming more and more
rewarding. I find solace in the fact that every member of the 2013 National
Championship team will always have their rings, and I find solace in the fact
that every Louisville fan will always have the memories of that season. The
NCAA can take away wins, and it can take away banners. It cannot, however, take
away the experiences of being a Louisville Cardinal.
Garrett Kasey, of Elizabethtown, Ky., is a sophomore McConnell Scholar studying economics, political science, and Spanish.