NCAA has bias against USC

Last week, the NCAA released a mountain of evidence related to former USC running backs coach Todd McNair’s defamation lawsuit against the NCAA. Among the 500 plus pages of documents is concrete evidence that undoubtedly demonstrate a negative bias held by members of the infractions committee toward USC.

Of course, this wasn’t exactly a revelation. It doesn’t take a super sleuth to look at the NCAA’s actions over the past five years and recognize inconsistencies in punishments handed down.

Miami had its Ponzi scheme- running benefactor. Auburn was making cash payments to Cecil Newton. Ohio State’s number one sponsor was not Adidas or Nike, but the local tattoo parlor. North Carolina had its academically rigorous fake major for basketball players and a nice compensation plan in place for their football players. Finally, there was the most egregious and disturbing situation of all in Happy Valley with Penn State.

A broad range of rules were broken in these instances, yet the common denominator among all of these situations was the weak penalties handed down by the NCAA. In one case, sanctions were lifted before they even ended.

Up until last week, the argument could be made that talk of NCAA hypocrisy was simply bitter resentment from the Trojan faithful who couldn’t view the situation objectively. Not anymore, though. The release of those documents offer incontrovertible proof that the NCAA acted unfairly in their deliberations before punishing USC.

In the words of Dennis Green, “they are [who] we thought they were.” In the case of the NCAA, that means a hypocritical, morally bankrupt organization. It’s equally important to remember, these documents don’t paint the full picture. There are still 200 pages left of internal communication among members of the committee. There is evidence in there that led the judge in the McNair case to conclude there was “ill will or hatred” on the part of the NCAA.

It would be easy to place 100 percent of the blame for USC’s situation in the last few years on the corruption of the NCAA. That isn’t necessarily right, however. USC should have fought the penalties with more vigor, instead of complying and taking the penalties passively.

Obviously, it’s easy to critique the actions of the athletic administration in hindsight, but there were fans and ex-players calling for action three years ago. It was nice to see our athletic director finally take a firm stance last week, but where was that when the Trojans needed more scholarship players? As a program, USC has been too focused on optics and complying with the unjust and hypocritical requirements of the NCAA and during that time lost sight of the best interests of the football program.

Now that the scholarship limitations are over, the damage is done to the football program. They are already recovering. The combination of malice on the part of the NCAA and timidity on the part of USC is the culprit for the full enforcement of these unduly harsh penalties. At this point, it is simply about seeking justice for USC and ensuring broad and sweeping changes throughout the NCAA.

These documents can be the catalyst to finally take the NCAA to court. It seems that the only way to bring the NCAA to its knees is to hit it where it hurts — its purse strings. I am not a legal expert, but rudimentary research indicates that the Trojans have a case to make against the NCAA.

USC certainly performed admirably while under sanctions, going to bowl games every year they were eligible and putting together highly ranked recruiting classes. Yet, they were undoubtedly handicapped by the sanctions.

A full roster would have allowed them to possibly compete in BCS bowl games, which generates more revenue for the school than the Sun Bowl in El Paso. Sue the NCAA for that. Attendance has been down the last three years, negatively impacting revenue. Sue the NCAA for that. USC’s national brand was tarnished. Sue the NCAA for that. The list could go on and on. With USC leading the charge, the NCAA could finally be crippled by a deluge of lawsuits from not just USC, but aggrieved individuals and institutions nationwide.

Money won’t retroactively help USC win any games. It won’t help any players’ whose draft stock and professional aspirations were adversely affected by USC’s diminished spotlight. It won’t clear Todd McNair’s name, whose career in college football was ruined. What it will do, though, is offer a measure of closure to all those in the Trojan world who were unjustly affected by the culture of corruption inside the NCAA.

USC failed to act three years ago when something could have been done about the scholarships. I hope they don’t fail to capitalize on this opportunity as well. The NCAA lacks institutional control, plain and simple. If they took down USC, they can take down anyone. Someone needs to put a stop to them, and USC is in the perfect position to do so. McNair had no fear taking them to court, and the Trojans should follow his lead. If legal fees are the issue, I have no doubt that there is a contingent of the Trojan faithful who would happily fund that battle to stick it right back to the NCAA.

The time is now to finally take the NCAA down a peg. Their unbridled arrogance cannot go unchecked any longer. Though it certainly won’t compete with the shellacking USC gave Oklahoma in the national title game in 2005, watching Mark Emmert admit fault or write a check to USC would be pretty sweet in its own right. Let’s make it happen; this is a game USC will certainly win.

Jake Davidson is a sophomore majoring in accounting. His column “Davidson’s Direction” runs Mondays.