oh boy. this can get nasty.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...6/ST2008020600092.html
It was quite a scene in the Fernley (Nev.) High gym on Friday. A 6-foot-5, 290-pound football player, seated at a table with his coach beside him, was making his college selection before a cheering crowd. On the table before him were a pair of baseball caps -- one from the University of California and one from the University of Oregon.
The player reached for the blue Cal hat, bent the visor, and placed it on his head, signifying that he was accepting a scholarship to play at the school and would officially sign his letter-of-intent today, the first day senior high school football players can do so. Television crews and a newspaper reporter were present for what was believed to be the first Division I college athlete from the town of Fernley (pop. 19,700).
"We're still gathering information," NCAA spokesman Stacey Osbourn said. "Generally in situations like this -- not that there are a lot of them -- we would talk to some folks to figure out if any violations took place, either on behalf of the prospective student-athlete or our schools."
NCAA rules prohibit college coaches from talking publicly about specific recruits, making rumor and innuendo currency. Some high school coaches, accustomed to having colleges recruit their players, know how to deftly navigate the process. For uninitiated coaches and uninformed parents and guardians, the recruiting process is an awakening.
But rarely, if ever, has a scenario such as Hart's emerged. At Friday's ceremony, the player was willing to talk about how he narrowed his choices to Cal and Oregon, and specifically mentioned Cal Coach Jeff Tedford.
"Coach Tedford and I talked a lot, and the fact that the head coach did most of the recruiting of me kind of gave me that real personal experience," Hart was quoted in the Reno Gazette-Journal.
When word began to circulate Saturday that something was amiss with Hart's commitment to California, the player went to the Lyon County Sheriff's Department to file a report. According to Mike Lange of the sheriff's office, Hart said he had attended a football camp where a person claiming to be a recruiter had loaned Hart money. Hart said he paid the man back between $500 to $700 more than the initial loan but did not find out the man was not affiliated with any schools until after committing to California, Lange said.
"It would be fraud, obtaining money under false pretenses, something along those lines," Lange said. "From what I understand, there is not a whole lot of evidence from this kid, so I don't know how successful an investigation will be. But we will see what we can do."
If Hart did take money from a man he thought was a representative of a university, that could have affected his amateur status, Bonine said. If that is the case, Fernley could have to forfeit games from a season in which it finished 8-4 and reached the state semifinals.
'
so now Coach Tedford is being investigated by the NCAA for possible violation, the high school he went to MAY have to forfiet the wins they had.
wow
Facebook
Twitter